Title:
Breeding Strategy and Health Status of the Icelandic Sheep DogAuthor:
Sigurðsson, Guðjón
Date:
2019Abstract:
The Icelandic Sheepdog has been around since the time the first Nordic Settlers came to Iceland. The breed grew steadily until the 19th century when about 50% of the population was killed as an eradication measure against a recent tapeworm outbreak. Later in the 19th century an outbreak in the disease distemper almost eradicated the entire population of Icelandic Sheepdogs with a consequent population bottleneck. The current population of Icelandic Sheepdogs can be traced back to 36 founders. Out of these 80% of the genome of the current population has been traced back to only three founder animals.