I know that back in the 70's they were. We had some farmers and some musicians from Iceland come and stay at our farm over a period of a few years and they were shocked that we would even let our farm dog into the porch.
When we realized how uncomfortable they were around dogs...old Smokie had to stay outside for the remainder of their visits. Maybe they were uncomfortable with dogs in general. Understandable since dogs were banned from the cities and most people were likely not familiar with dogs. Kind of little I have a bit of a cat phobia my mother passed to me after my brother and I got scabies from a kitten from a feral litter. To this day I'm not comfortable with handling unfamiliar cats, and it's taken effort to overcome my fear of cats and disease so I can handle my cats, and I was too young to recall having scabies. Efforts began in the late fifties to save the Icelandic Sheepdog from extinction. An English nobleman searched Iceland high and low for dogs to enter a breeding program to save the breed. It was after Sir Mark Watson's effort to save the breed in the late 1950s that Iceland decided to also make an effort to save their dog. I find it difficult to believe they were wandering feral and considered pests in the 70s. Dogs in general--- okay, the ISD in particular--- I don't think so. Cheryl Sand Creek Icelandic Sheepdogs www.sandcreekicelandics.com
