The Shetland Sheepdog (also called sheltie) is the fruit of several crossbreeds of collie dogs and spitz dogs, which is why it bears so much resemblance to them. It is one of the most beautiful dogs, so although it was born as a breed intended for herding, today it is one of the most appreciated for domestic possession. It cannot be said with complete certainty that this breed is from a specific place, but the truth is that the most credible theories today maintain that it is originally from Scotland. More specifically, from the Shetland Islands, hence its name.
A breed that obtained its recognition back in 1808 and that owes its small size to a reason for survival. In their place of origin, the weather conditions and the scarce vegetation made life difficult for the large dogs and, in addition, there were no large predators, so the most appreciated dogs were those with a rather small size. In this sense, the Shetland Shepherd came out very well and was one of the most appreciated for herding work. Although today it is not usual, there are still some other copies that are dedicated to this task.
It certainly cannot be denied that the Shetland Shepherd has a hair of advertisement. Their fur has the particularity of being double-coated. While the undercoat is smooth, dense, and short, the most noticeable is long and rough. As for the colors, this dog has a great variety of them and most often it combines several: black and white, black and tan, blackbird blue, gold in all its variants and even tricolor.
In line with what we mentioned earlier about its origins as a sheepdog, the sheltie can become a bit conflictive if it has not received the necessary education since it was a puppy. As a peculiarity, it should be noted that it is a somewhat shy dog, but that does not prevent it from being very affectionate with its family environment.
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