The Shetland sheepdog, also known as the Sheltie, is a breed of herding dog. The Sheltie is very intelligent, vocal, and energetic, is willing to please and work hard. The Sheltie is a descendant of the King Charles spaniel and the Scottish collie, it was developed for herding the sheep of the Shetland islands.

 

 

Shelties have a doubled coat, which means they have two layers of fur that complete the appearance of their coat. The long, rough guard hairs lie on top of a thick, soft undercoat. The guard hairs are water repellent, while the undercoat protects the Sheltie from high and low temperatures

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There are three basic colors of a Sheltie: sable, tri-color and blue merle. There are also three colors that are more rare, bi-blue, bi-black and sable merle. All of these colors may also have a color modification gene. The color modification genes are Merling and White factoring. Merling dilutes the base coat (sable, tri-color or bi-black) causing a black Sheltie's coat to show a mix of black, white and grey hairs. White factoring affects the amount of white on the Sheltie. It's hard to tell without actually breeding, whether a Sheltie is white factored or not, though Shelties with white going up the front of the hind legs are usually assumed to be white factored, Breeding two white factored Shelties can result in color headed  whites (Shelties with colored heads and white bodies).

 

 

Shelties are highly intelligent, according to Dr. Stanley Coren, an expert on animal intelligence, the Sheltie is one of the smartest dogs in the world, ranking 6th out of 132 breeds tested, also ranked 1st for worlds smartest small dog.

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Shelties can and have been used as sheepdogs and still participate in sheepdog trials today. Herding dogs conduct livestock from one place to another by causing flight behavior. The instinct to herd is primarily a product of the breed, no amount of training can subdue this instinct. Shelties can also be used as therapy dogs for those who need comfort during hard times. Shelties are rarely aggressive and will make a perfect companion and family dog.

 

 

Because of their size, Shelties do very well in dog agility, obedience, showmanship, fly ball, tracking and herding. Shelties are well known for herding and agility, they can easily be trained to do agility, their size, speed and intelligence makes them perfect agility dogs.

 

 

Shelties are athletic and healthy, but there is a tenancy to inheriting malformation and disease of the eyes, like collie eye anomaly, cataracts, progressive retinal atrophy, glaucoma, Colombo,  eyelash abnormalities and corneal dystrophy. Shelties can also inherit epilepsy and heart disease.

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Shelties are very friendly, they tend to do well around children and being handled by them, their kindness, intelligence, energy, beauty, size and the fact that they are willing to please anyone, clearly makes them an excellent family dog.

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