If the Border Collie you think you’re seeing in this picture seems a little “off,” it’s because it’s not a Border Collie, it’s a Faroese Sheepdog. The dogs are native to the Faroe Islands (also known as “Sheep Island”), a self-governing archipelago of 18 rocky, volcanic islands situated in the Atlantic Ocean halfway between Iceland and Norway. 

Irish monks were the first known settlers in the Faroe Islands, and it was they who told of the “Islands of the Sheep and the Paradise of Birds” in the 6th century. The next wave of visitors were Viking settlers who arrived from Norway in the 9th century. The exact origin of the Faroes Sheepdog isn’t known,  but almost certainly it descended from dogs brought to the Faroe Islands by the monks, as well as from sheepdogs that came with the Norsemen. Over time, the gene pool expanded with imported Border Collie-type dogs, especially of late. While the Faroese Sheepdog may look similar to the Border Collie, it works very differently.

Sheep on the island have little flocking instinct and are free ranged. The dogs are used to chase down a sheep, catch it by the shoulder wool or foreleg, and bring it to the ground to hold it.

We are taking a giant leap in assuming that the following video is of a Faroes Sheepdog, but the dog in the video is credited to Saksun – Sterymoy, Faroe Islands, and “Fram’s” appearance is in line with pictures we’ve seen of other dogs verified as Faroes Sheepdogs.  The intelligence in Fram’s eyes is readily apparent, and at the :36, the camera changes angles for a side view:

The argument could be made that the Faroes Sheepdog is a land race, but it breeds true, and the dogs are more similar to each other than they are different.

Images found uncopyrighted on various websites