Lecture for ISIC – February 8

On February 8, I will give a lecture on Zoom about the history of the Icelandic Sheepdog through the ages. The lecture is organized by ISIC and will be held in English with the title "From Settlement to Survival: A Thousand Years of Iceland's National Dog".

Link to the lecture on February 8, 2026, at 7 PM.

Since I have not previously mentioned ISIC, now might be the right time to explain what ISIC is. ISIC stands for Icelandic Sheepdog International Cooperation. Member nations are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, and the USA. 
ISIC's main purpose is to support and encourage international cooperation in all matters that benefit, preserve, and protect the Icelandic Sheepdog.

Brief History
In 1994, after many years of work, the Icelandic Kennel Club (HRFÍ) and the Icelandic Breed Club (DÍF) succeeded in convincing the Icelandic Parliament, Alþingi, that it was a national duty to preserve the Icelandic Sheepdog as an inseparable part of Icelandic culture. Alþingi tasked the Minister of Agriculture with appointing a committee to oversee the future and preservation of the Icelandic Sheepdog as Iceland's national dog.

Guðrún R. Guðjohnsen, who was chairman of HRFÍ at the time, sat on the committee appointed by the Minister of Agriculture to oversee the Icelandic Sheepdog. When the majority of committee members felt they were ready to submit a final proposal, the HRFÍ board disagreed. They felt the proposal lacked essential basic information.

Because of this, HRFÍ and DÍF decided to seek support abroad, especially from Sweden. With the help of the Swedish breed club, Islandhunden Sverige, the first international breed club support was obtained.

In January 1996, a joint document was sent to the Nordic Kennel Union. This document was signed by breed clubs and representatives from six countries: Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Finland. This marked the formal beginning of international cooperation on the Icelandic Sheepdog.

I encourage everyone interested to explore ISIC's website, where there is much of interest to be found, including interesting lectures and presentations held over the years, important articles as well as annual reports from participating countries that provide excellent insight into the work of breed clubs and cooperation through ISIC.

ISIC also maintains the database where all registered Icelandic Sheepdogs can be found. 
See here.

I look forward to talking about the history of our national dog and hope that many will find time to listen.