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Glamorous yet dainty and neat, the Shetland Sheepdog is, at least in appearance, a miniature of the Rough Collie. The coat is long, hard and straight, with a profuse mane and frill and luxurious feathering on the legs and tail.
The Shetland Sheepdog breed can suffer from:
- Patellar luxation
- Legg- Perthes disease
- Collie eye anomaly which is an inherited condition where the eye does not develop properly, potentially leading to blindness.
- Multiple drug sensitivity which is a condition where dogs are particularly sensitive to certain types of drugs.
- Von Willebrand's disease which is where a dog produces insufficient or faulty clotting factors which can result in uncontrolled bleeding.
- Progressive retinal atrophy which is an inherited disorder where part of the eye degenerates and wastes away which can result in blindness.
- Hypothyroidism¹ where the thyroid gland is underactive and does not product enough thyroid hormone. This can result in low energy levels, weight gain and skin problems.
- Distichiasis² which is an often painful condition where small eyelashes grow from the inside of the eyelid, rubbing on the surface of the eye.
Priority Kennel Club health schemes and testing:
- Eye screening scheme
¹L. J. Kennedy , 'Association of canine hypothyroidism with a common major histocompatibility complex DLA class II allele', 2006, Tissue Antigens
²K. Zdzisław et al, 'Co2 Laser Treatment Of Canine Distichiasis', 2014, Eastern European Journal of Veterinary Ophthalmology
| Lifespan: | 12-13 years |
| Weight: | 6-12kg |
| Height: | Males stand around 37cm and females 35.5cm |
| Colours: | Commonly sable and white, but also black and white, tricolour, merle and black and tan |
| Size: | Small |
| UK Kennel Club Groups: | Pastoral |
| Family-friendly: | 5/5 |
| Exercise needs: | 4/5 |
| Easy to train: | 5/5 |
| Tolerates being alone: | 2/5 |
| Likes other pets: | 4/5 |
| Energy level: | 4/5 |
| Grooming needs: | 3/5 |
| Shedding: | 5/5 |
The Sheltie may look every inch the show dog, and these days many are, but under the glorious coat, there is a strong, active working breed with a sharp mind and bags of energy. Devoted to their owners, Shetland Sheepdogs can take a while to warm to strangers, and they are never off duty – always ready to alert their owner to whatever catches their eye!
Country of Origin: Shetland Isles
Named for the Shetland Isles off the North-East coast of Scotland where this breed was developed, the Shetland Sheepdogs original job was aiding crofters in herding sheep, and protecting unfenced crops from anything that fancied a free meal.
Many animals native to Shetland are notable for their smaller stature - the sheep and ponies in particular. As a result, crofters had no need of a large, expensive to feed working dog when a nimble smaller dog would do better.
Likely derived from a variety of local working dogs including collie and possibly spitz types, with remarkably little input from the Rough Collie which is surprising given the similar appearance. When the breed was recognised by the Kennel Club the name had to be changed from ‘Shetland Collie’ as breeders of the Rough Collie at the time did not want the two breeds associated!
