November 5th 1994
Snćlukku kennel
I took Stjarna all the way out to the east of Iceland to Thorvaldsstadir to mate her in 1993 and unfortunately she re-absorbed those puppies after having an ultrasound too early in her pregnancy. Her owner worked at the Animal Hospital and was so curious, the first ultrasound clearly showed puppies but a week or so later she phoned me to ask about some strange discharge, I went to look at Stjarna and realised that something was wrong. That was a learning experience (I had heard about this risk from a breeder friend in England) and I never ultrasound my females now unless it is absolutely necessary and never before the 4th-5th week.
We decided to try again and used a male closer to home! I assisted Snćlukku kennel with this litter since it was her first litter and she was inexperienced. One puppy (born 6:00 am 255 gr. tan with white collar and stockings) in this litter had a cleft palate and was put to sleep the day after they were born when we realised what was wrong. She has never had any more puppies with that disorder. Later Töfra Stjarna went to a new home at Sindra Kennel.
Mother: Töfra Stjarna
Father: Is Ch Fróđi frá Götu
From left: Snćlukku Kátur, Snćlukku Birta, Snćlukku Táta & Snćlukku Bjartur
Snćlukku Kátur
5:15 am 290 gr. double dewclaws
I will try to get a grown up photo from Kristín and post it, Kátur was just so sweet and beautiful that I definately need to post his photo here!
A dog that can never be duplicated! His temperament was to die for and if it could have been bottled I would have kept it as a secret ingredient for future use. Kátur was shown and always with good results. He was always so friendly, smiling and never barked, his coat was wonderful and he was just such a teddy bear in his character and looks. His favourite way to greet anyone he met was by sitting up on his back legs and waving with both front feet together, it's hard to explain but it was so cute that he melted the hearts of non dog people every where he went. Unfortunately he had HD-C and many of his offspring also have HD so I cannot use a son of his in my breeding. He had a few litters with different types of females and I think the nicest offspring I have seen from him is a therapy dog named Loki (frá Oddhóli) (HD-free) who lives in USA with Andrea Barber. From photos I've seen of him and what Andrea has told me about him I think he is probably the closest he could be to his father's temperament and he sure is a beautiful dog, in my honest opinion he is an improvement on his father because Kátur was a little low on his legs. Kátur is dead now and his owner still has trouble getting over losing him, she calls him that "once in a lifetime dog". She is hoping to get a grand puppy of his that can replace him and I certainly hope she does.
Snćlukku Birta
4:55 am 170 gr. double dewclaws
Birta was a little girl and very lively, she unfortunately had a very badly curled tail and it stood straight up in the air just as it is in the photo. This is a funny trait it seems to usually skip a generation, her grandfather had this type of tail and her grandchildren also got it. She was sweet though, very cute and was a good friend to her first owner, a young girl who was in a wheelchair. Birta had a bit of a habit of barking when excited and she loved to play and as so often can happen her owner became too busy with studies and a boyfriend to care for her. The parents decided to do the best thing for her and find her a new home (I went to see her with a friend of mine and took this photo). Birta went to a farm where there was an older male dog already. It was a very nice dog that had never had progeny. Long story short they had puppies together, three beautiful puppies, one had double dewclaws on three legs and the other two had strong doubles. One of these puppies ended up in a show/breeding home and is now one of the most famous Icelandic Sheepdogs ever in Iceland. His name is Int.IS Ch Hektor and I have used him for one litter with Stjarna's half sister Frigg. Birta wasn't x-rayed for hip dysplasia because she was hit by a car and died shortly after her litter left. So obviously she had her one "touch of fate" litter that she would have never had if she had of stayed with her first owner. They say God works in mysterious ways.
Snćlukku Táta
4:30 am 270 gr. double dewclaws
Táta suffocated on her way out but we got her breathing again and she was very strong and healthy. Sadly another all too common story in the Icelandic Sheepdog, Táta was hit by a car and died when she was only around 8 months old. Táta was a strongly built female who was very promising and so sad that she never got to prove her worth in the population.
Snćlukku Bjartur
3:50 am 240 gr. double dewclaws
Bjartur is a dog who is very eye catching and was always more "showy" than his brother Kátur, even as a puppy he caught my eye. Mostly due to his bright red coloring with white markings and his more correct proportion of leg. His coat is long, harsh and full, very nice true "lubbi". He does have a bit of a problem with barking in the showring and so wasn't shown too often. I showed him a couple times myself for the owners and he was not too hard to handle for someone that has training experience. He did receive two champion points out of the three needed but after I moved the owner tried but couldn't show him to his best advantage. Bjartur has a couple litters and I have also used one of his sons on Stjarna's half sister. Bjartur is HD-B.
Litters - 1991 - 1994a - 1994b - 1995 - 1997 - 1998 - 2001a - 2001b - 2002 - 2003a - 2003b