All About
Shetland Sheepdog

The Sheltie bark is a trademark of the breed. It is high pitched and ear-piercing and can set your teeth on edge. It is essential to train your Sheltie to obey commands to quiet down. Socialization is also important so that your Sheltie learns to alert you when strangers are approaching, but not friends or the mailman or every incoming dog, cat, bike, or leaf that wanders near the house.

Shelties are a popular breed and this has unfortunately led to a lot of indiscriminate breeding. This practice means there are a lot of Shelties born with unstable temperaments. It is crucial to research any potential breeder extensively and also to meet your potential puppy's parents before committing to a Shetland Sheepdog.

The Shetland Sheepdog should do well on a high-quality dog food, whether commercially manufactured or home-prepared with your veterinarian’s supervision and approval. Any diet should be appropriate to the dog’s age (puppy, adult, or senior). Some dogs are prone to getting overweight, so watch your dog’s calorie consumption and weight level. Treats can be an important aid in training, but giving too many can cause obesity. Learn about which human foods are safe for dogs, and which are not. Check with your vet if you have any concerns about your dog’s weight or diet. Clean, fresh water should be available at all times.

The Sheltie has a profuse double coat that sheds considerably. The outer coat consists of long, straight, harsh hair, while the undercoat is short, furry, and very dense. Owners must be prepared to brush the coat weekly, and more often during shedding season, to help in removing at least some of the loose hair before it drifts all over the house. Be sure to check for mats behind the ears, under the elbow on each front leg, and in the “pants” under the tail. Shaving the dog is not recommended, because the coat protects against sunburn and heat as well as cold. The Sheltie needs a bath only occasionally. The nails should be trimmed regularly.

Although Shelties were bred to withstand harsh weather conditions, they love their people and should live indoors with them as part of the family.While they can be relatively inactive indoors, Shelties were bred to be working farm dogs and need ample exercise. They enjoy going for walks, playing fetch with the kids, and running around the dining room table. Afterward, they'll help you hold down the sofa.Because of their small size, Shelties can do well in an apartment if their people are committed to providing daily walks and playtime, as well as training them not to bark incessantly.This requires finesse. Shelties can have their feelings easily hurt by harsh treatment. Instead of yelling at your Sheltie for barking, acknowledge his alert ("Thanks for telling me about the squirrel in the yard") and give a verbal reprimand only if he continues barking. In general, Shelties respond best to positive reinforcement such as praise, play, and food rewards.Try to keep training interesting for your dog. Shelties can become bored easily, and see no point in repeating an exercise multiple times if it was done correctly the first time.

Major concerns: dermatomyositis
Minor concerns: CEA, PRA, trichiasis, cataract, CHD, hemophilia, Legg - Perthes, patellar luxation
Occasionally seen: PDA, deafness, epilepsy, vWD
Suggested tests: eye, hip, DNA for vWD
Life span: 12-14 years
Note: may be sensitive to ivermectin. Merles should not be bred to merles because homozygous merle is lethal or detrimental to health.

The Sheltie hails from the rugged Shetland Islands, which lie between Scotland and Norway, about 50 miles north of Scotland and a bit south of the Arctic Circle. These islands are also home to other small breeds of animals, such as Shetland Ponies and Shetland Sheep.For many years, the Shetland Sheepdog was called the Toonie, taken from the Norwegian word for farm. Farmers bred the dogs, crossing the Border Collie with smaller dogs, to herd and protect their flocks of Shetland Sheep. Some speculate that one of the tasks of Shetland Sheepdogs was to protect the small sheep from birds. Indeed, many of today's Shelties seem to have a passion for chasing birds, and some even try to chase airplanes and helicopters flying overhead.In the early 1800s, the Sheltie was brought to England and Scotland, where he was described as a miniature Collie. On the Shetland Islands, the farmers started breeding their small Shelties to be even smaller and fluffier, so they could sell them to visitors to the islands. It's rumored that a Prince Charles Spaniel (a variety of English Toy Spaniel) and some Pomeranian dogs, left on the island by tourists, were crossed with the native sheepdogs.There was so much crossbreeding that by the end of the 19th century, islanders realized that the original type of dog was disappearing. There was much dissension about what the original dog had looked like, however, and how to get back to it. Some breeders believed they needed to crossbreed with Collies in order to regain the original type, some felt that they should breed only the existing Shelties who were closest to the original type, and others continued to crossbreed indiscriminately with other breeds to develop small, pretty pets.Shelties of all three types were entered in dog shows in the early 20th century, up to World War I. In 1909, England's Kennel Club recognized the breed. Altogether, 28 Shelties were registered that year as Shetland Collies (rough). Four of them still appear in the pedigrees of many modern champion Shelties: two males named Lerwick Tim and Trim and two females named Inverness Topsy and Inga. The first Sheltie to be registered by the American Kennel Club was Lord Scott in 1911.Collie breeders in England were unhappy about the name of the breed, however, and protested to the Kennel Club. This led to the change of the name to Shetland Sheepdog.The Shetland Sheepdog stirred up controversy both in Great Britain and the United States for many years, with rumors of crossbreeding and long-running disagreements about what the breed should look like. As a consequence, many Shetland Sheepdog clubs were formed to support the different viewpoints. Finally, in 1930 the Scottish and English Clubs got together and agreed that the dog "should resemble a collie (rough) in miniature."U.S. breeders imported Shelties from England until the 1950's, but by that time, American and British Shelties had begun to diverge greatly in type and size. Today, almost all Shetland Sheepdogs in the U.S. are descended from dogs that were imported from England between World Wars I and II.As the breed became more well known, its numbers increased in the U.S. In the 1970s, their popularity exploded and Shelties appeared on the American Kennel Club's list of the ten most popular dogs in 12 of the next 15 years, peaking in the early 1990s. Today the Sheltie ranks 20th in popularity among the 155 breeds and varieties registered by the American Kennel Club.And how is the Sheltie faring in his native Shetland Islands? Ironically, he's fairly rare in his rugged homeland — the breed has been replaced by the Border Collie.