The Shetland sheepdog is a small sized herding dog that originated in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. Used for herding sheep and barking to keep pests and birds out of gardens, as well as being a great family. Their personalities can be described as being polite, gentle and sweet dogs.

Their weight is from 1635lbs.

They first became recognized by the English kennel club in 1909 followed by the AKC in 1911. Then 3 decades later the movie “Lassie Come Home” was released in 1943, which made the Collie and the Sheltie popular dog breed among dog owners. And now they are ranked the 27th most popular dog breed in the US and they are ranked the 6th most intelligent dog breed.

The Shetland Sheepdog was not created by breeding the Collie down smaller, but by originating from the herding collies of Scotland and mixing the King Charles cavalier and small Spitz type herding dogs such as the Pomeranian to smaller Rough Collies to create the Sheltie.

Shelties are packed with energy and intelligence and require daily exercise.
They have great instincts for herding livestock from one place to another using fear flocking and flight behavior. They are also well known known as a sport dogs where they excel at dog agility, Frisbee, obedience, showman ship, flyball, and tracking.

If they are cooped up they can become frustrated, be nippy, or develop anxiety. Shelties will also herd anything and that include cars, small children, your other dogs.. but be specifically cautious with your sheltie off leash around any moving vehicles because they will chase it!

Acceptable AKC show coat colors are: Black, Merle and Sable.
Common coat faults are Rustiness in a black or a blue coat. Washedout or degenerate colors, such as pale sable and faded blue.

And their ears! – Sheltie show Ears are to be small and flexible, placed high, carried threefourths erect, with tips breaking forward.

Hair coat: Shelties have a double coat which sheds in clumps twice a year. They do get Mats commonly in their frill behind their ears, around their collar and behind all four legs, which requires regular grooming and brushings to prevent matting. Shaving your sheltie is not recommended because their hair coat may not grow back and even cause baldness or alopecia.

Overall, Shelties are known for being a stocky and Sturdy little herding dog breed. They rarely get cancers and typically live to 12 or 14 years old.

However they do have small list of health issues which I have a second video about that you can find on my channel!

Alright guys, so I actually got a Sheltie after I saw the movie lassie! And yes,I named him Lassie. It was just my luck that when I really wanted one there was a surrendered puppy at my dads animal hospital that he let me keep, he was a great dog, tons of energy and, yup he chased cars.

Okay guys, so I hope you enjoyed this video about Shelties, comment below if you have a sheltie or have any questions about getting one, hit that like button to help this video circulate to other dog lovers and subscribe to my channel if you haven’t already!

~ Dr. Lindsay Butzer

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