History
The Sheltie came from the Shetland Islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. Unlike many miniature breeds that resemble their larger counterparts, this breed was not developed by selectively breeding the Rough Collie for smaller and smaller sizes. Rather, it is the result of the intermingling of Border Collies and possibly several other herding breeds over the past several centuries.
Its exact origins are not known, they are thought to be the result of Scandinavian herding dogs, with crosses to the ancestors of the Border Collie and Rough Collie. There have also thought to been crosses to the Greenland Yaki dog and the Icelandic Dog. Later crosses include early 19th century Pomeranians, which were larger than the Pomeranians of today, Papillions, and a Corgi-like dog. In the late 19th century, to early 20th century, crosses to the Rough Collie was made to preserve the original type. It was at this time that the Shetland Sheepdog was known as the Shetland Collie.[7]
The year 1909 marked the initial recognition of the Sheltie by the English Kennel Club, with the first registered Sheltie being a bitch called Badenock Rose. The first Sheltie to be registered by the American Kennel Club was "Lord Scott" in 1911.[7]
Ironically, the Shetland Sheepdog is only rarely found in Shetland, having been replaced by the Border Collie.
Activities
In their size group, the breed dominates dog agility competitions. They also excel at competitive obedience, showmanship, flyball, tracking, and herding. Participating in such a sport will satisfy a Sheltie's needs for mental and physical exercise.
Sable and white Shelties at one and half years and at 6 months. Professional grooming typically gives a fluffier coat than these. The puppy has a transitional "puppy fuzz" coat.
Grooming
Shelties have a double coat. The topcoat consists of long, straight, water-repellent hair, which provides protection from cold and the elements. The undercoat is short, furry, and very dense in order to help keep the dog warm. The Sheltie is usually a clean dog and should only need to be brushed once or twice a week (it is helpful to spray-mist with water when brushing). Mats can be commonly found behind the ears, under the elbow on each front leg, and in the fluffy fur on the hind legs (the "skirts").
Although its coat might appear to be a time-consuming task, a once-weekly, but thorough, brushing is all that is needed, though more frequent groomings and trimmings will contribute to a beautiful and tidy coat. Shelties 'blow' coat usually twice a year, often at spring and fall, and should be groomed more often at those times. A good brushing with an undercoat rake, which removes the dead and loose hair from its coat daily should reduce the amount of hair that is shed.
It is easiest to teach a dog to tolerate, or even enjoy, grooming if they are shown that it is a pleasurable thing from a young age. Breeders usually teach the dogs to lie on their side, be brushed, and then flip over to the other side.
Toenails and hair between the pads need to be trimmed every couple of weeks to ensure traction and to prevent mud and snow from balling up on the feet.
Show dogs may require more frequent brushing to keep their coats in top condition. Regular brushing encourages undercoat growth, distributes healthful oils produced by the skin, and prevents sores known as "hotspots" which can occur when dead undercoat is allowed to accumulate close to the skin. Show dogs also require trims to certain parts of the coat, including shaping the ears, the topskull, the jawline, paws and topline. To see a detailed explanation of how to correctly trim a Shetland Sheepdog, refer to the book "Sheltie Talk."[8]
Most Shelties learn to love the attention that grooming provides, if the routine is started when the dog is still young.
Breeding
As with any dog, Shelties should be screened for inheritable genetic diseases before breeding. Both male and female should be tested for thyroid problems, von Willebrands disease and brucellosis, as well as have hip x-rays cleared by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals and eyes cleared by CERF. Like other dog breeds, Shelties should only be bred if they are worthy examples of the breed with something to contribute to the bettering of the gene pool. Ideally a dog should hold at least a title from the AKC in conformation; performance titles are icing on the cake.
Breeding colors is also a problem for many beginning breeders. Certain color combinations can produce unwanted or potentially harmful results, such as a blue merle to blue merle breeding, the result of which can be deaf and blind white puppies (called the lethal white syndrome.) A tri-color and bi-color are the only two colors that can safely be bred to any other color. By breeding a sable and white to a blue merle, the result can be an unwanted sable merle. A tri-color to a pure-for-sable (a sable and white which can produce only other sable and whites), will produce only sable and whites, but they will be tri-factored sable and whites (which means they have the tri-gene.) There are many more examples of breeding for color, so a good breeder will research what genes each dog carries. There are many different genes contributing to the different colors of the Sheltie, including the bi gene, the merling gene, the Maltese dilution gene, the smut gene, the sable gene, and the tricolor gene.[9][10]
Content provided by Wikipedia
|
