Dog breed · United Kingdom
The Shetland Sheepdog, also known as the Sheltie, is a breed of herding dog that originated in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. It was formally recognized by the Kennel Club in 1909. It was originally called the Shetland Collie, but this caused controversy amongst Rough Collie breeders of the time, so the name was changed. It is a small dog, clever, vocal, willing to please, and trustworthy.
Like the Shetland pony, Shetland cattle, and the Shetland sheep, the Shetland Sheepdog is a hardy but diminutive breed developed to thrive amidst the harsh and meagre conditions of its native islands. While the Shetland still excels at herding, today it is often raised as a working dog or family pet.
The Shetland's origins are obscure, but it is not a direct descendant of the Rough Collie, which it largely resembles. Rather, the Shetland is a descendant of small specimens of the Scottish Collie and the King Charles Spaniel. They were originally a small mixed-breed dog, often only about 20 to 30 centimetres (8 to 12 inches) in height at the shoulder, and it is thought that the original Shetland herding dogs were of the Spitz type, and were crossed with Collies from mainland Britain. In the early 20th century, James Loggie added a small Rough Collie to the breeding stock, and helped establish the breed that would become the modern Shetland Sheepdog.
Temperament: According to Stanley Coren, an expert on animal intelligence, the Shetland Sheepdog is one of the brightest dogs, ranking 6th out of 138 breeds tested. His research found that an average Shetland could understand a new command in fewer than five repetitions and would obey a command the first time it was given 95% of the time or better.
Appearance: The general appearance of the Shetland is that of a miniature Rough Collie. They are a small and double coated dog with a well shaped head. They have a long coat which becomes short around the face giving it the appearance of a mane.
Coat And Colours: Shetlands have a double coat, which means that they have two layers of fur that make up their coat. The outer coat is made up of long hair and is "harsh-textured and straight". The undercoat is soft, short, and close to the skin. The long coat should produce the appearance of a mane. The face is smooth haired.
Shetlands may come in the following colours.
Sable – either clear or shaded sable ranging in colour from pale gold to mahogany. Wolf-sable and grey are undesirable colours.
Health: A Japanese study of pet cemetery data found a life expectancy of 14.3 years with 239 dogs—higher than 13.7 overall life expectancy. A UK study found a life expectancy of 13.4 years for the breed compared to an average of 12.7 for purebreeds and 12 for crossbreeds.
The Shetland is predisposed to the following dermatological conditions: allergic skin disease, cutaneous drug eruptions, cutaneous histiocytosis, cutaneous or systemic lupus, dermatomyositis, and Sertoli cell tumour.
Shetland Sheepdogs have four times the risk of other dogs of developing transitional cell carcinoma, a cancer of the bladder.
A North American study of over a million hip scores in dogs over the age of two found the Shetland to have the fifth-lowest prevalence out of sixty breeds—4.2% of Shetlands had hip dysplasia.
Von Willebrand disease is an inherited bleeding disorder. The Shetland is affected by both type I and type III.
History: Unlike many miniature breeds that resemble their larger counterparts, this breed was not developed simply by selectively breeding the Rough Collie for smaller and smaller size. The original sheepdog of Shetland was a Spitz-type dog, probably similar to the modern Icelandic Sheepdog. Strong evidence suggests that this dog was bred with the Yakki, an Icelandic dog that accompanied whalers from Greenland who landed in the ports of the island. The Yakki was about 14 inches (36 cm) in height and usually black with tan or white markings. Many of the early Shetlands were black and white or black and tan and this colouring can still be see in the muzzle of some sable dogs today whose muzzles are referred to as "smutty muzzles". Folk tales also mention a King Charles Spaniel that came from a yacht. Pomeranian dog ancestry is likely given the appearance of the breed. The first club for the breed called for a dog similar to the Rough Collie except in size, the standard called for dogs to be no taller than 15 inches (38 cm). Other clubs called for similar standards with the breed to essentially be a miniature. These standards led to people adding in collie blood to the breed to achieve said type. The Kennel Club originally refused to recognise the breed but later agreed to on the condition the name was changed from Shetland Collie due to opposition from collie breed clubs. The original Spitz-type working sheepdog of Shetland is now extinct, having been replaced for herding there by the Border Collie. Shetlands were used for herding until commercial livestock farming required larger breeds.
When the breed was originally introduced breeders called them Shetland Collies, which upset Rough Collie breeders, so the name was changed to Shetland Sheepdog. During the early 20th century (up until the 1940s), additional crosses were made to Rough Collies to help retain the desired Rough Collie type – in fact, the first English Shetland champion's dam, Gesta, was a rough Collie. The year 1909 marked the initial recognition of the Shetland by the English Kennel Club, with the first registered Shetland being a female called Badenock Rose. The first Shetland to be registered by the American Kennel Club was "Lord Scott" in 1911.
