The Icelandic Sheep Dog
The Icelandic Sheepdog, the national dog of Iceland, has accompanied the Icelandic people since the settlement era and is an inseparable part of the country's history and culture.
In 2025, we will open a unique exhibition at Lýtingsstaðir in Skagafjörður, dedicated to this remarkable breed and its story.
Come and experience this extraordinary exhibition - history, knowledge, and a truly memorable experience await you!
In 2025, we will open a unique exhibition at Lýtingsstaðir in Skagafjörður, dedicated to this remarkable breed and its story.
Come and experience this extraordinary exhibition - history, knowledge, and a truly memorable experience await you!
Blog
Grants for 2026
The year 2025 is drawing to a close, an eventful year in which we achieved the major milestone of opening the Icelandic Sheepdog Heritage Center here at Lýtingsstaðir in Skagafjörður. With the opening of the Heritage Center, a venue has been established where the history of the Icelandic Sheepdog is preserved and made accessible to all. It is my hope that the center will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in exploring the dog's history as part of Iceland's cultural heritage, as well as its life and role in the modern era. However, the physical exhibition is not the only focus; this website is also a key component, accessible to enthusiasts anywhere in the world. My vision for the future is to continue developing the website, gradually building it into a comprehensive and accessible database for Icelands national dog. I won't claim it will contain "everything," as it's impossible to find and collect all information. However, I will do my best and hope it serves as such a resource. In that context, it’s fitting to briefly mention the website's statistics. Since the website launched on June 3, 2023, it has received over 38,400 visits. The average visit duration is 1 minute and 55 seconds, which is quite good. The most popular blog posts are "Dogs Banned in Reykjavík for 60 years" (in Icelandic and English), "Mark Watson – Saviour of the Icelandic Sheepdog" (in English), and "Origin of the Icelandic Dog" (in Icelandic). Of the visits, 51% came from Iceland, 19% from the United States, 10% from Germany, and 3% each from Sweden, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Denmark, and Canada. What lies ahead? My idea of creating an exhibition on the history of our national dog would never have been possible without the generous grants the project has received over the years. It is therefore a great pleasure to announce that we have been approved for further funding for the upcoming operational year, from both the SSNV Development Fund and the KS Cultural Fund. I am incredibly grateful for this support and goodwill. As the new year begins, I will share more details about the upcoming projects for both the exhibition and the website. As I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year, I want to express my deepest gratitude for all the help and support that has made this project a reality, and for its wonderful reception. Christmas greetings from Lýtingsstaðir, Evelyn Ýr and family, along with the dogs
Unique pictures
Yesterday I was given photos of Bak frá Flögu in Þistilfjörður. The owner had recently sent me a short story about Bak and several photos that [can be seen here](https://www.fjarhundur.is/en/saga/bakur-fra-flogu). I will add these photos I received yesterday to Bak's story soon, but I just want to express my gratitude for these privately owned photos that are so precious to preserve. The photos are from the years 1967-1970. Unfortunately, I know nothing about Bak's lineage, but he was clearly a brilliant and handsome, smooth-haired dog with dark patches on his back. Do you have photos and short stories about your Icelandic sheepdog(s) that you would like to preserve on the site? Contact me!
Hundaþúfa
Today, November 16th, we celebrate Icelandic Language Day on the birthday of Jónas Hallgrímsson. Jónas was a prolific writer, poet and translator (November 16, 1807 – May 26, 1845). On this occasion, I'd like to tell you about a dog-related word. In [questionnaire #66](https://sarpur.is/Spurningaskra.aspx?ID=531295&page=0&pageSize=192) in the Sarpur collection, people are asked about the word _hundaþúfa_. The respondents were born between 1896 and 1927. Hundaþúfa refers to cone-shaped grass tussocks that formed along riding paths, enriched by dog droppings. These distinctive mounds became well-known landmarks in rural Iceland when everyone traveled on foot or horseback with their dogs. Plural: hundaþúfur. _"Hundaþúfur were well known. Were other names used for them? Describe this. Do people know the saying: 'Now I think the hundaþúfa is starting to show off'?"_ All interviewees answered similarly to this woman, born in 1905: "In those days, everyone was traveling on foot or horseback with dogs along. Cone-shaped tussocks were found widely along riding paths, they were called hundaþúfur. I haven't heard other names for these distinctive tussocks. When dogs needed to relieve themselves, they ran to these distinctive cone-shaped tussocks. The grass was dark green and lush because of the fertilizer from the droppings. Horses, cows and sheep made little effort to graze on the grass of hundaþúfur." One woman, born in 1908, answered: "As a child, I was afraid of hundaþúfur, because they were the dogs' toilets." This verse appeared in the answers from a man, born in 1904: _Hundaþúfan er höldum kunn_ _hér á landi víða._ _Eðlishvötin á þeim runn_ _læt ég hana bíða._ _(The hundaþúfa is surely known / widely here in the land. / The natural urges at that spot / I let her wait for.)_ About the saying "Now I think the hundaþúfa is starting to show off," the most common response was: "I'm familiar with hearing that, 'this is quite the hundaþúfa,' was said about something that was small and insignificant or trivial." (Woman, born 1912) "Well known is the expression: 'Now I think the hundaþúfa is starting to show off.' It was often said about arrogant men who thought themselves important but others felt they had little to boast about." (Woman 1907) A man, born in 1899, answers: "I have always heard the word hundaþúfa used in a derogatory sense, such as 'there's a difference between a hilltop and a hundaþúfa.'" "I don't remember hearing or seeing other sayings about hundaþúfur in books. Though it may be that I have at some point heard it used disparagingly about a...poor turf house, built of inferior materials, e.g. 'this damn hundaþúfa.'" I end this hundaþúfa compilation on Icelandic Language Day with a verse by Steingrímur Thorsteinsson (1831-1913), author, translator and poet: _Hundaþúfan hreykti kamb_ _hún var nóg með þurradramb,_ _skamma tók hún hefðar fjall,_ _hafðu skömm þú ljóti kall._ _Fjallið þagði, það ég skil, það_ _viss'ei að hún var til._ _(The hundaþúfa showed off its crest / it was enough with its dry boasting, / briefly it took on the mountain's tradition, / be ashamed you ugly fellow. // The mountain stayed silent, I understand that, it / knew not that she existed.)_
Contact
Lýtingsstaðir, 561 Varmahlíð.
+354 893 3817
[email protected]
