A walking carpet with the soul of an angel (Shetland Sheepdog)

Member Name: StampedingTurtes

Product:	Shetland Sheepdog
Date:	18/09/09 (84 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Beautiful, happy, loyal and waggy little bundles of joy!

Disadvantages: The thought of losing them

The Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie) is a wonderfully intelligent, gentle and playful little dog. A quick and joyful companion for anybody. One of the best things about owning a dog is the welcome they give you on entering the house. With a Sheltie, it is usually a noisy and ecstatic welcome full of little paws and bundles of fur and excited yips and yelps. Nothing is better for the ego than a welcome home from a loyal Sheltie.

The Breed
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It is a common misunderstanding that the Sheltie is simply a miniature Rough Collie. This is not the case. They are in fact, a breed in their own right and kennel Clubs around the world prohibit any out breeding with Rough Collies. The original Shelties were developed through the breeding of rather a wide variety of dogs including the King Charles Spaniel, the Pomeranian and the Rough Collie among others.

The Sheltie originates from the Shetland Islands on the West Coast if Scotland. A rugged and treacherous landscape where only the strongest survive. Sheep farming on the Islands has been successful for hundreds of years and because of the rugged landscape, the sheepdog needed to be small, sturdy and nimble. There are references of a small Rough Collie type dog on the isles going back to the 19th century.

It is thought that these first ancestors of the modern Sheltie were brought to England, where the breed began to thrive and it is estimated that the Sheltie first arrived in America around 1911. Selective breeding with the smallest Rough Collies was used to some extent to strengthen many of the breeds beautiful looks, but the constant problem was that even the smallest of Rough Collies were of a size prohibited by Sheltie breed standards.


Breed Standards
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The Sheltie should stand between 13 and 16 inches tall at the shoulder with a refined head and elegant muzzle which is a long blunt wedge shape viewed from the side. Expression is extremely important and in the Sheltie this expression should be a gentle and intelligently questioning look. They should be watchful but not wary towards strangers.

Something I love about Shelties are the eyes. The breed standard states that the eyes should be medium sized, in good proportion to the head with dark, almond shaped rims. The colour of the eyes must be dark brown or for blue merles light or blue eyes are permissible. I always find a Shelties eyes mesmerising. Too look into their eyes is like floating down in a pool of chocolate. Their eyes are soft, gentle and deeply intelligent.

On buying a Sheltie puppy it is advised that you should "break" the ears. This is, when the cartilage is still soft, to bend the tip of the ear over frequently so that it sets with the top fourth of the ear bent forward. This causes the puppy no pain and does not affect hearing. It is purely for breed standard and if you are not going to show your puppy there is no requirement, however, the tipped ears do contribute enormously to the sheltie's overall expression.

The top of the skull should be flat and the length should be equal to the muzzle so that the centre point should be around the inner corner of the eyes. The chin should be rounded with a deep under jaw line. The nose MUST be black and the lips should be tight and even.

Shelties have a level and muscular back with an equally muscular neck for such a petite dog. The body should be firm, compact and muscular while the thighs should be muscular and the legs slender and delicate. The feet are small, compact and oval in shape.


Temperament
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Shelties are intensely loyal dogs. They tend to be wary of strangers, but never afraid. They are instead, protective of their pack, but never vicious or provocative.

In the home they are joyful little creatures who carry with them a constantly happy and watchful energy. This is interesting to observe. They love to have fun and they love to play with people and other dogs. However, they are also very at home just watching others. I have often caught my Sheltie lying with her tummy on the floor and her back legs kicked out behind her with her two front legs perfectly parallel to each other... just watching me. Every minute detail of whatever I am doing is fascinating for her. She seems to gain much pleasure from observing the everyday tasks of her family.

When she meets someone for the first time she is watchful but curios. She sniffs, she looks questioningly at the new person and she allows them to pat her. She warms to new people quickly. She can easily pick up on her packs feelings about a particular person. An example of this being when out for a walk a man approached us and I was very wary of him. Bonnie picked up on this. She did not let him pat her; she simply took up a defensive position between us and watched. There was nothing threatening about her behaviour and the man probably did not notice anything unusual, but it was easy to tell that she was ready to protect me. They are feisty and brave little dogs, despite their tiny size!

Overall the Sheltie is an easy going, good natured little thing. They hold no grudges. They have the gentlest nature of any dog I have ever known. They are affectionate but not lap dogs by any standards. They do seem to keep their strong herding instincts too. For example, if several of the "pack" are on the beach or in a field, the sheltie will never tire of running from one person to the next, to the next and back again. They are relatively vocal little dogs which is also a link to their herding instincts. This makes the Sheltie a wonderful watchdog. They will bark to let you know there is someone approaching the house, but it is never vicious, always just a warning bark... however, I am sure if the person was approaching in malice, those warning barks might make him think twice!

Shelties are very intelligent and easy to train. Bonnie has learned many tricks from the usual sit and lie down, to slightly more out there things like speak (she makes a grumbling noise), smile. She has also learned lots of things by herself. She will place the treat ball on your knee, in your hand or simply throw it at you to let you know she wants it. She will paw at your leg if she wants out. They are intelligent little things who do well with lots of mental stimulation.

Coat and grooming
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Shelties are known for their long, beautiful coats. They have a double coat to protect them from the harsh weather of the Western Isles. This is a short, fluffy undercoat for warmth and the long, course outer coat which sheds water. The hair on the face, ears and legs is short, soft and smooth and they have very thick and full frills and manes. The front legs are feathered and the back legs are very heavily and coarsely feathered with a thick. fluffy tail which, when hanging straight down, should skim the floor. Coat colours range from Tricolour (black, white and tan) Sable (golden to mahogany) and white; and blue merle.

It may be surprising to note that grooming does not require too much attention or time! The Shelties coat is particularly beautiful and should be looked after, but it is not as daunting to take care of as it may appear. A once monthly VERY thorough grooming and once weekly shorter "maintenance" sessions are all it takes to keep the sheltie's coat in good condition. You will be surprised how much fur is removed with each full grooming session (about the size of a basketball)

During the early summer months the Sheltie will "blow his coat" During this time, he loses his heavy winter coat in preparation for the warmer summer months. When this is happening you will usually find little clumps of fluff occasionally protruding from areas like the elbows and hocks. This is normal and they are just large amounts of hair that have been shed but become caught in the course outer coat. We have great fun plucking them out... Bonnie doesn't even notice!

As for bathing, Shelties hate to get wet. They simply refuse to go for a swim at the beach and at most will paddle until the water touches their tummy. Lucky for them their intensely thick coat barely ever allows water to touch their skin!

Giving a sheltie a bath is an experience. They don't enjoy it and may put up a little bit of a fight. Bonnie will grumble and mumble and give me the most heartbroken look her little face will allow. It's as though she is saying "what did I do to deserve this?!". It takes lots of effort to get the thick, double coat soaked through. Once this is done and the shampoo is applied...it takes even MORE effort to rinse it all out again. The coat is so dense that it repels water and when the shampoo is on, you have to work in little sections, lifting the hair and rinsing again and again. No wonder Bonnie doesn't enjoy it!

Happily, Sheltie's are very clean dogs and do not need to be washed often, in fact, as dog's skin is not balanced the same way as human skin, it cannot tolerate water so well, this being the case, it is best to only wash your dog when necessary. We wash or dog about 4 times a year. She never smells, she never looks dirty and she never looks anything less than perfect. Good grooming means that baths are not needed often and some shelties may only have a few baths in their entire lives!

I would say that if you are considering a Sheltie, do not let the prospect of grooming put you off because they do not require much more grooming than any dog with medium length hair.


Health
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These are relatively healthy little dogs. There is some predisposition to hereditary malformations of the eye (Collie eye anomaly and progressive retinal atrophy). Some lines may also be prone to hip dysplasia or epilepsy.

The life expectancy of the average sheltie is 10 - 15 years. Gulp! My little Bonnie is 12. I can't bear to think about it.


My little Sheltie
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Bonnie is 12 years old and still full of beans. As I have mentioned, shelties are joyful little beings who love their packs and show loyalty openly. When a family friend calls her or asks her to sit, she glances at a member of her pack first as if to say "should I?" it's very sweet.

My little walking carpet loves to play with squeaky balls or plush toys. These are her favourite things and she usually has a tug of war with a squeaky squirrel. She is incredibly curious and will often shove open a room door with her nose just to keek inside to see what you are up to. She'll have a look, decide whether or not she should join in and either come trotting into the room ready to "help" or wander off to check on other family members.

Bonnie is a wonderful guard dog and will bark her deepest bark when someone is at the door. The moment they enter she is happy to greet them. During walks she trots along at an even pace without paying attention to passers by unless they speak to her first. She has this wonderful little trotting gait which swings from side to side. Shelties tend to be very light on their feet and exceptionally fast and agile.

What I love most about Bonnie is her friendship. I know it sounds crazy. No matter what is happening in my life, she never changes. When something wonderful happens and I am deliriously happy - so is she. She will bark and play and tumble around with me. When I have been in the depths of sadness she has been right there next to me, cuddling into me and occasionally nuzzling my arm or my chin. She will look deep into my eyes as if she is trying desperately to understand what is wrong. When I have no one else to talk to, I can talk to her. She will lie and listen to me with an expression on her face that says she agrees with everything I say. No matter what kind of day I have had, Bonnie matches my mood and celebrates or comforts as appropriate. She never asks for anything in return. She is just there, there to love and be loved.

I absolutely adore Bonnie and it terrifies me to think that someday I will be in the depths of despair and she won't be there to comfort me. I get a huge lump in my throat when I consider it. I don't know what I will do when the time comes but no matter how painful, it will have been worth it to have this wonderful little bundle of energy and love and light in my life.


Shelties as pets
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Shelties make wonderful pets, as I have just described, they will be there through every event in your life and they will match you mood. They are wonderfully accommodating little dogs who match their energy levels to those around them. They would be perfectly happy with a lively outdoors family, but equally happy with an older family who are less energetic.

They are great family pets and wonderful with children. The only thing I would say is that their small size means that a boisterous child could easily hurt a sheltie and I would make sure that children know how to behave around a dog. Most dog bites in children are usually the result of the child doing something which hurts of threatens the dog. I know that Bonnie would never bite, but then, she has never been in a situation where she had no other option. Young children should never be left alone with dogs in case they hurt them and the dog retaliates.

I think that the Sheltie makes a wonderful family dog; children can grow up alongside this joyful and constant guardian. The sheltie is a loyal and loving breed that really makes a family feel special just by welcoming them up out of their beds in the morning!

For me, they are the perfect pet. I wouldn't change one thing about Bonnie.

Summary: Wonderful little dogs that bring happiness to the lives of their families!