Breed Description: The Sheltie is a small, long-haired working dog that resembles a Rough Collie in appearance. They are skilled at herding livestock and have a natural willingness to obey. Shelties are highly intelligent and excel at obedience and agility trials. They are extremely responsive and have been described as almost being able to read their owners minds. This breed is loyal and sensitive and makes a good family pet.
Group: Herding Group
Purpose of Breed: Herding Sheep
Country of Origin: Great Britain
Average Size: Ranges from 13 inches to 16 inches and 14-16 pounds.
Color(s): Black, blue merle, sable, black and white, black and tan, tri-colors.
Coat Type: A long, straight, harsh outer coat and a short, dense, furry undercoat.
Grooming: The thick coat of the Sheltie should be groomed at least twice weekly to help keep it in top form. This breed requires standard care for eyes, pads and nails. Ears should be examined and cleaned regularly.
Exercise Needs: Shelties will adapt to any living environment, but need a fair amount of daily exercise to stimulate their quick minds and maintain physical health.
Temperament: Shelties are born with a desire to please and are very responsive to training. They are loving and affectionate with their family members and show a natural wariness toward strangers. They like to keep themselves neat and clean and seem to be endowed with a remarkable sense of intelligence and understanding. Loyal and protective, shelties tend to bark an alarm when they deem it necessary and are happiest only when treated like an equal member of the family.
Common Ailments: Susceptible to epilepsy, dermatomysostitis, thyroid problems and diseases of the eyes.
Life Expectancy: Averages 12-14 years.
Trivia: The Shetland Sheepdog, as its name implies, is essentially a working Collie in miniature. The Sheltie, however, is not a miniature collie. Although is resembles a Collie, it is its own distinct breed that originated on the Shetland Islands, off the northeast coast of Scotland.
More Information: Shetland Sheepdog Association
Check out these photos.
Holly is a Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie) shown at 10 months old. Holly was a gift from my husband. Holly enjoys following me outside, but her favorite sport is chasing a laser light "Dot" across the floor!
My beautiful Rusty lived to be 12 years old before cancer took him. He was a wonderful family pet who loved people.
Autumn was born on August 19th, 2008. She is a Shetland Sheepdog. I found a breeder with a litter of Shelties that were ready to go on my daughter's 4th birthday. Autumn was the smallest and loved playing with my daughter, so she was the one!
Ellee is a 2 year old Sheltie. I got her in February of 2009. She likes to bark and tackle the kids to the ground.
Our Sheltie, Sheena decided she was the guard dog and needed a post to watch from. Really she would have run if someone would have said BOO to her, LOL.
Spencer was a 12 year old Sheltie. I got him 12 years ago when he was 5 weeks old. He liked to eat. He was unique with one brown eye and one blue eye and has a beautiful coat of hair.
Laz'rus is 3 years old and a Shetland Sheepdog. For Christmas 2005, my mother in law gave our other pups a gift card to Petco as a present.
Ellie is a 3 year old Sheltie. We have had Ellie since she was 8 weeks old. Ellie loves playing with the kids.
Patty and Creede are Shetland Sheepdogs, both are 4 years old. I got them when they were babies. They love to chase balls!
Killian "Heaven Sent" (Shetland Sheepdog) Photo. His AKC name is "Heaven Sent". He will be 2 years old on October 4th. Killian is a purebred Shetland Sheepdog also known as a Sheltie. . .
This is our dog Chewy, named for Star Wars' Chewbacca. He is a Shetland Sheepdog with one blue and one brown eye, he just turned 6 years old on June 20th and we've had him since he was 7 weeks old!
Killian is a 2 year old Sheltie (Shetland Sheep Dog.) I got him from a friend who breeds Shelties when he was 4 months old.
In Memory of Taffy (Sheltie) Photo. We lost Taffy when she was 13 years old from a rare muscle disease. She will always live in our hearts, though.
This is our dog Sassie, she is 10 years old, we have had her since she was a puppy. She is a Miniature Collie (Sheltie) and we bought her from a breeder.
Tole is a 16 year old Sheltie. Tole was a rescue dog from Nevada. We brought him to Wisconsin and now he's the perfect pal and a total snowdog!
