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Shetland Sheepdog
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The Shetland Sheepdog, often known as the Sheltie and
sometimes as the Shetland Collie, is a breed of dog in the pastoral
dog group, resembling a miniature Rough Collie.
Shelties are family-oriented dogs that can be as at home in a flat
in a town as in a house in the country. They have a thick double
coat that can come in many different colours and patterns. They
are vocal dogs, with few health problems; among those they are
prone to are hip dysplasia and thyroid problems. They are very
good house and family dogs. They are very protective and good
with children if properly socialised with them as a puppy.
Despite its name the Shetland Sheepdog is only remotely
connected with the original herding dog of the Shetland Isles,
instead deriving mainly from a mixture of the Rough Collie with
several toy breeds.
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Shetland Sheepdog
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Country of Origin
Scotland
Weight
14-27 lb
Height
13-16 in
Coat
Double coat: long rough over coat,
soft thick undercoat
Color
sable, tri-color (black, white, tan),
blue merle
Life span
10-15years
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Description
Coat and Colors
Shelties have a double coat, which means that they have two
layers of fur that make up their coat. The long, rough guard hairs
lie on top of the thick, soft undercoat. The guard hairs are water-
repellent, while the undercoat provides relief from both high and
low temperatures. There are three main colourations: sable, which
ranges from golden to mahogany; tri-colour, made up of black,
white and tan; and blue merle, made up of grey over other colours.
Bi-Black (white and black) and bi-blue (white, black and grey) are
less common but still acceptable. The best-known colour is the
sable, which is dominant over other colours. Shaded, or
mahogany, sables can sometimes be mistaken for tri-coloured
Shelties due to the large amount of dark shading on their coats.
Another name for a shaded sable is a tri-factored sable and white.
This name comes from the breeding of a tri-colour to a sable and
white, or a tri-factored sable to another tri-factored sable. Another
acceptable colour in the show ring, but much less seen, is the
sable merle, which can often be hard to distinguish from regular
sables after puppyhood. The sable merle would have patches of
dark brown on a light brown background, as compared to the black
and gray of a blue merle.
There are two additional coat colours that are quite rare because
they are unacceptable in the breed ring. The colour-headed white
(majority of fur white, with the head 'normally' marked) can occur
when two white-factored dogs are mated. Double merles, a product
of breeding two merle Shelties together, can be bred but have a
higher incidence of deafness or blindness than the other coat
colours. There have been reports of a brindle Sheltie but many
Sheltie enthusiasts agree that a cross sometime in the ancestry of
that specific Sheltie could have produced a brindle.
Height and Weight
The size of a Sheltie (at the withers) can range from being
undersized (under 13 inches) to being oversized (over 16 inches.)
The average height of a Sheltie in the United States according to
the AKC Standard is between 13 - 16 inches. A measurement of
either below 13 inches or above 16 inches will result in being
dismissed from the conformation ring. Being dismissed three times
will result in the dog being banned from any more conformation
classes.
Shelties weigh around 30 pounds.
Temperament
The Shetland Sheepdog is an outstanding companion dog and is
intensely loyal. It is lively, intelligent, trainable, and willing to please
and obey. Shelties are loving, loyal, and affectionate with their
family, but are naturally aloof with strangers; for this reason
Shelties must be socialised. Some can be quite reserved. Shelties
do well with children if they are reared with them from an early age;
however, their small size makes it easy for a child to accidentally
injure them, so supervision is necessary. Exercise caution when
considering an adult Sheltie for a family with young children; they
may not be compatible.
Shelties are vocal dogs. Correct Sheltie temperament is intensely
loyal, affectionate and responsive to his owner; reserved but not
shy or fearful. Some shelties display a terrier-like personality,
which tends to be hyper, and always on the go; however, this
temperament is not sanctioned in the breed standard. Some
Shelties can be very timid but this temperament is specifically
discouraged by the breed standard. Tendencies towards shyness
can be reduced through proper socialisation. The average Sheltie
is an excellent watch dog, giving alarm barks when a person is at
the door, or a car is in the driveway.
Activity Level
The herding instinct is strong in many Shelties. They love to chase
and herd things, including squirrels, ducks, and children. Shelties
love to run in wide-open areas.
A bi-black Sheltie doing agility
Shelties usually love to play. They do best with a sensitive,
attentive, owner. The Sheltie is, above all, a herder and likes to be
kept busy, although their activity level usually coincides with their
owner's level. Shelties also are very smart, making them highly
trainable. Shelties are very good with children. Neglecting a
Sheltie's need for exercise and intellectual stimulation can result in
undesirable behaviors, including excessive barking, phobias, and
nervousness. Fortunately, the reverse is also true: annoying
behaviors can be lessened greatly by an hour of exercise that
engages the dog with its owner.
Intelligence
Shelties have a high level of intelligence. According to Dr. Stanley
Coren, an expert on animal intelligence, the Shetland Sheepdog is
one of the brightest dogs, ranking 6th out of 132 breeds tested.
His research found that an average Sheltie could understand a
new command in less than 5 repetitions and would obey a
command the first time it was given 95% of the time or better
Health
Like the Rough Collie, there is a tendency toward inherited
malformation and disease of the eyes. Each individual puppy
should have his eyes examined by a qualified veterinary
ophthalmologist. Some lines may be susceptible to hypothyroidism,
epilepsy, hip dysplasia, or skin allergies. The expected life span for
Shelties is between 10–15 years, although some Shelties are
shorter lived, and some are longer lived.
Dermatomyositis may occur at the age of 4 to 6 months, and is
frequently misdiagnosed by general practice veterinarians as
sarcoptic or demodectic mange. The disease manifests itself as
alopecia on the top of the head, supra- and suborbital area and
forearms as well as the tip of the tail. If the disease progresses to
its more damaging form, it could affect the autonomic nervous
system and the dog may have to be euthanised. This disease is
generation-skipping and genetically transmitted, with breeders
having no clear methodology for screening except clear bloodline
records. Deep tissue biopsies are required to definitively diagnose
dermatomyositis.
Von Willebrand disease is an inherited bleeding disorder. In
Shelties, affected dogs as a general rule are not viable and do not
live long. The Sheltie carries type III of von Willebrands, which is
the most severe of the three levels. There are DNA tests that were
developed to find von Willebrands in Shelties. It can be done at
any age, and it will give three results: affected, carrier and non-
affected. Shelties may also suffer from hypothyroidism, which is
the under-functioning thyroid gland. Clinical symptoms include hair
loss or lack of coat, over or under-weight, and listlessness.
Research is currently ongoing to further understand the thyroid.
Although small breed dogs are not usually plagued by hip
dysplasia, it has been identified in Shelties. Hip dysplasia occurs
when the head of the femur and the acetabulum do not fit together
correctly, frequently causing pain and/or lameness. Hip dysplasia
is thought to be genetic: many breeders will have their dogs' hips x-
rayed and certified by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals.
Eyes
The two basic forms of inherited eye diseases/defects in Shelties
are Collie eye anomaly (CEA) and progressive retinal atrophy
(PRA).
CEA can be detected in young puppies by a veterinary
ophthalmologist. The disease involves the retina. It is always
bilateral although the severity may be disparate between eyes.
Other accompanying defects (ophthalmic anomalies) may wrongly
indicate a more severe manifestation of CEA. CEA is present at
birth and although it cannot be cured, it doesn't progress.
Facial profile of a sable-coloured Shetland Sheepdog
That is, the severity of the disease at birth will not change
throughout the dog's life. CEA is scored similar to the way hips are.
In some countries, the Sheltie gene pool is limited so breeders will
breed with a very low scoring CEA. However, most breeders are
actively trying to breed this disease out by only breeding with dogs
that have "clear" eyes or very low scoring eyes. A CEA score
considered too high to breed with may still be low enough not to
affect the dog's life. These dogs live happy and healthy lives as
pets but should be not used for breeding. Most breeders have all
their adults and every litter tested. Some breeders will supply a
certificate from the vet to all their puppy purchasers.
PRA can be detected at any time but usually does not show up
until the dog is around 2 years of age. As the name suggests, it is
a progressive disease which will eventually result in total blindness.
Currently there is no treatment for either disease, but as both
diseases (CEA and PRA) are hereditary it is possible to eliminate
them using selective breeding.
History
Unlike many miniature breeds that resemble their larger
counterparts, this breed was not developed simply by selectively
breeding the Rough Collie for smaller and smaller size. The
original sheepdog of the Shetland Islands was a Spitz-type dog,
probably similar to the modern Icelandic Sheepdog. After being
brought to England, this dog was extensively crossed with the
Rough Collie, and other breeds including some or all of the extinct
Greenland Yakki, the King Charles Spaniel (not the Cavalier), the
Pomeranian, and possibly the Border Collie. The original Spitz-type
working sheepdog of the Shetlands is now extinct, having been
replaced for herding there by the Border Collie. The Shetland
Sheepdog in its modern form has never been used as a working
dog on the Shetlands, and ironically it is uncommon there.
During the early 20th century (up until the 1940s), additional
crosses were made to Rough Collies to help retain the desired
Rough Collie type – in fact, the first AKC Sheltie champion's dam
was a purebred Rough Collie bitch. It was at this time that the
Shetland Sheepdog was known as the Shetland Collie.
The year 1909 marked the initial recognition of the Sheltie by the
English Kennel Club, with the first registered Sheltie being a female
called Badenock Rose. The first Sheltie to be registered by the
American Kennel Club was "Lord Scott" in 1911.
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