Mom and pups, 2010 Litter

Now taking Applications for companion puppies from this litter.  Our priority is matching each pup to the right home for that puppy's personality and energy level.   

Puppies arrived December 27, 2010 - two boys and three girls.  
There are a range of colors and markings.  The blog is updated regularly.   Puppies will have long coats like the parents.  

We anticipate these pups will have out-going temperaments and will be excellent family companions and fun sports partners for whatever their owners want to do.   Pups are given a standard temperament test at 7 weeks and are tested on ducks at about 9 weeks to evaluate their aptitude for herding. We welcome the future puppy families to attend the herding evaluation.  Previous tests have been very informative for everyone who attended.  

The puppies have a JUSTIN.TV channel with the ever-popular puppy cam streaming live video so you can get a puppy fix on a daily basis.

 

Töfra Tinni Alexander

  

Dam: UCh, CH Belglen Roskva CGN, RN 

Photo by Leesa McLellan www.leesamclellan.ca
.

Pups will be CKC and UKC  registered and eligible for AKC registration. Pups from this litter will be eligible to compete in CKC performance events including obedience, herding, and agility.

This is a very promising combination, with the parents strikingly similar in both looks and personality, yet the pedigree will have a low level of inbreeding which is a good sign for the health and vigor of the puppies. Tinni joined our family direct from Iceland, and although we had considered postponing the winter litter, he and the enchanting Soley had other plans.  

  

For more information about our first two litters please visit the Solhundur Icelandic Sheepdogs blog and view the archives from 2007 and 2009.  Pictures of each pup from our first two litters are also on the Homepage and I will be happy to provide owner references on request.  

 Our puppies are raised in our home.  We begin the house-training process while the pups are in the whelping box, although it will take a couple of months or more for puppies to be  100% reliable  in their new homes.   We also introduce clicker-training at 4 weeks of age, which sets an excellent foundation for future learning.   Before they go to their new homes,  our pups receive their first vet visit, deworming,  and are microchipped with a CKC microchip.  As we are CKC members our puppies come with a free 6-week trial of Petplan insurance that is activated the day they go their new home.  We handle and socialize our puppies extensively and give them all the same start in life as we would for any performance/show prospect we were keeping for ourselves.

Our puppies are CKC registered and eligible to participate in  CKC events including Obedience, Rally Obedience, Agility, Herding and Tracking.  They are also UKC registered and eligible to compete in UKC Conformation (which offers altered classes), and other UKC events including agility and obedience. 

We match puppies to their new families based on the results of temperament testing at 7 weeks, as well as herding potential testing at 9 weeks,  and on-going observations of their personality and behaviour.  Puppies are eye tested at  8 weeks of age by a veterinary opthalmologist.

From our two litters we are  proud to have placed  one puppy in a working farm home, four  pups are  in show/obedience/sports  homes, and the other puppies are active and loving companions.   All owners are pleased with the energy, intelligence and friendliness of their puppies.

Some Questions and Answers

How much do your puppies cost? Do your show puppies cost more? Will you sell a show puppy to a pet home? 

The puppy price will be $800 which includes the deposit of $200, for pups sold on non-breeding agreements.  Puppies are the same  price regardless of color, markings, or sex.   The price reflects our costs in raising the litter.   We are charging a lower price than previous litters since we did not have to pay a stud fee or travel costs for mating.  All puppies will be CKC and UKC registered, at no extra charge.  

Our priority is making the best match for each puppy.  We will sell "show quality" puppies to pet homes (or working homes or performance homes) if it's in the puppy and their new family's best interest.    We love to see puppies thrive as active and versatile companions.  We don't keep separate reservation lists for show and pet homes and our contracts don't require owners to show or breed their pups.

What health problems are in the breed?  What health tests do you do?

There is hip dysplasia present in the breed. Out of Icelandic Sheepdogs whose results are registered with the OFA, 14.8% are diagnosed by x-ray to have hip dysplasia.  So it is important to test the hips of every dog before breeding.    9.6% of Icelandic Sheepdogs have Excellent hips (this includes our female  Sòley).    More information is on the OFA website: www.offa.org

Like many other pure breeds, eye diseases have occurred in the Icelandic Sheepdog.  The most known disease, although not very common, is juvenile cataracts.  The cataracts may be present from a very young age or first diagnosed around 2-4 years of age.  Another eye disease that's been found in the Icelandic Sheepdog is retinal dysplasia.  This can generally be  diagnosed when the dog is quite young.  Another eye condition sometimes  found is PPM (persistent pupillary membrane) which seems to run in families.  PPM  typically doesn't affect vision, so it's the breeder's decision whether to breed dogs with this condition.  PPM may be present in very young pups, although it isn't formally diagnosed until pups are over 16 weeks of age  - pups may also outgrow the condition.

I know of some incidences of hypothyroidism and heart murmurs in the breed, in North America and in other countries, these issues seem to run in families so we believe at this time it's worth testing our breeding stock. 

 We have tested and will continue to test our breeding dogs with hip exams, annual eye exams from a Board-certified veterinary opthalmologist, heart exams from a Board-certified veterinary cardiologist, and thyroid exams.   We register the results of all tests with OFA (Orthopedic Foundation for Animals) . Having the results publicly available in their open database contributes to genetic health and research for generations to come.   The Icelandic Sheepdog is one of the breeds participating in the Canine Health Information Center (CHIC) initiative.   Our two female Icelandics will be donating DNA samples to the CHIC program  and this effort could also benefit the breed in years to come. 

Do you have puppies available?  How often do you breed?

We recommend sending your application before the litter is born, as our puppies have usually been reserved before or shortly after birth.  We have placed most of our puppies with families who have been able to meet us and our dogs.  We believe strongly in providing life-time support and guidance to new families after their puppy goes home.  We will consider placing puppies in homes out of our region, but will only ship puppies to their new homes under certain circumstances.  

We own two female Icelandic Sheepdogs.  They are our companions first and their breeding careers are only one facet of their accomplishments.   We have had two litters from Sóley.   She has superb health results and loves being a mother, but this may be her final litter, as pregnancy and puppy rearing do take time away from her rally-O and agility training and competition.  

Tindra has a Good hip rating and Normal eye exam results.  Most likely we will have one  litter from her in the future.  Some of her sisters are in wonderful  show/performance homes, have been health tested, and will have one or more litters themselves.    One strategy to increase genetic diversity in our breed is to produce litters from a wider selection of dogs, rather than selecting only one or two dogs in each generation to reproduce.  I'm very pleased that Solhundur dogs can contribute to genetic diversity in this way,  though I don't keep numerous dogs and won't be breeding on a yearly basis.