General Description: The Shetland Sheepdogs are an intelligent smart looking and hardworking dog breed included in the group Herding dogs.The are very obedient to their owner.The Shetland Sheepdog is also known as Shetlie. It is smaller in size than Rough Coolie but lookalike in appearance.The Shetland Sheepdog or Sheltie as they are widely known make wonderful family companion dogs. They are small to medium dogs, and come in a variety of colors, such as sable, tri-color, and blue Merle They Playful and excitable dogs,loving to play with children but sometimes may be dangerous to children due to small size body.They are partly obtained from dogs used in the Shetland Islands for herding and protecting sheep.
Origin and History : The Shetland Sheep dog has no clear history of early origin The Shetland sheepdog is thought to have originated from collies brought to the Shetland Islands. Although their ancestry is uncertain, it is believed that they and the large collies have a common ancestor. It has also been suggested that it shares genes with the larger Shetland sheepdog, Dwarf Spaniels and the Icelandic Yakkie.
The Shetland Sheepdog was officially recognized by the English Kennel Club in 1909 as the Shetland Collie, and in 1994 the AKC followed. The Collie fanciers objected to this name and so the breed was renamed the Shetland Sheepdog.
Appearance: The general appearance of the Sheltie is that of a miniature Rough Collie. They are a small, double coated, working dog, agile and sturdy. Blue Merle Shelties may have blue eyes or one brown and one blue eye, but all others have dark colored eyes. Their expression should be that of alertness with a gentle and sometimes reserved nature. They carry their tail down low, only lifted when alert and never carried over the back. They are an intensely loyal breed, sometimes reserved with strangers but should not be shy or showing timidness as per the AKC breed standard.
Sable and White Sheltie |
Sable Shetland Sheepdogs- Sable is dominant on other colors. It may be pure sable (two sable genes) or may be taken tri-or bi-factoring (the carrier of a gene and a black tricolor or bicolor gene). "Tri-made" black "shaded" sable are not interchangeable terms. A shaded dog (one with a lot of overlap on a black sable) may or may not be taken tri-or bi-taken.
Shetland Sheepdog Tricolor (black, white, and brown)- Tricolor is dominant over the bi-black. It can be pure tricolor (2 tri genes) or may be bi-taken (the carrier of a gene and a gene-color flag).
Shetland Sheepdog Bi-Color (black and white) .Bi-black is recessive. A bi-black Sheltie carries two bi-black genes, therefore, any dog of any other color with a black two-parent is also bi-taken.
Weight: Although it looks very much like a Collie, this Shepherd differentiates perfectly by his size, having short legs and the maximum height they can reach is 41 inches, weighing about 12 pounds at maturity. Males are usually stronger and more developed than females.
Temperament: The Shetland Sheepdog is responsive and affectionate with its bosses, intelligent and easy to train. This dog does not allow outsiders touch him, even though he loves human company, while enjoying a family with many members. He wants to please his master all the time and loves to bark if it is necessary.They are tolerant and understanding with the kids, even with smaller animals, so there is no need to bother about it. Just be careful when taking them for walks, because they have the desirable running tendency after things and you should have to be careful to put on a leash and in particular near roads with heavy traffic.