Shetland Shepherd,
Shetland or Sheltie

The Shetland Islands in front of the Scottish coast have a particular fauna and typical domestic animals. There are miniature ovine breeds and miniature horses, the Shetland ponies. The sheepdogs that watched over the herds were also small. The Shetland shepherd is also called small collie; it was born in these islands a long time ago. This kind of dog is the result of cross-breeding the continental British collie and the island dogs, called Yākki, introduced by the whale hunters. The sheltie protects the house, the herds of lambs and ponies, and keeps the animals away from the non-fenced fields. The type, in its origins without homogenized, was gradually standardized since 1909. The breeders founded Shetland Collie Club in Lerwick and the breed was officially recognized in 1914. Nowadays, Shetland is considered more a good pet dog than a herd guard dog. It is an affectionate and faithful dog but it is not friendly with everyone. It is a good guard dog but it needs to exercise a lot to satisfy its lively character. Its long and thick hair requires diligent care, frequent combing and daily grooming.

According to the historical sources of 1514, a male and two females of Polish female shepherds (Owczarek Nizinny) were taken to Scotland in exchange of a pair of lambs. These were the ancestors of the bearded Collie and its blood also flows in the Shetland's veins.

The ideal size for a Shetland is 34 cm, the authorized size is 32-38 cm.

Weight: 10-18 kg. The Shetlands seem miniature collies. The type of long collie must be kept while the short-haired animals are excluded from the breeding. As with the collie, in the Shetland kind there are three types of color: they can have one-color sandy (3) or blackbird blue, they can have two colors black and tan (2), black with white patches or sandy with tan and white patches. The nose must be black, the eyes dark brown except in the black bird blue dogs, which each eye is of a different color.

The bearded collie (4). Size: male 54-60 cm, female 51-53 cm. The weight is not indicated in the standard. The hair can have all the nuances of gray, brown or sandy with or without patches.