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| Elliott's Shasta Sheltie's | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home Page | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Frequently Asked Sheltie Questions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owing a dog can be a wonderful experience.� Dogs give unconditional love for many years so you need to be prepared to make a long commitment. All of our dogs deserve a happy, healthy, permanent home so please be sure a Shetland Sheepdog is the right choice for you and your family BEFORE purchasing one. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| We hope this page will be of some help in helping you make the right decision. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| We advocate responsible breeding and would be happy to answer any other questions that you may have about Shetland Sheepdogs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q: How big are Sheltie's? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A: The standard for sheltie's states that they should be between 13" and 16" at the shoulder. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most fall into the upper half of this range. Sheltie's were once crossed with the larger collie to improve the breed and large sheltie's will still be found today at a result. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| It is not unknown for a sheltie to approach a small collie in size. Small shelties are more rare but will show up in a litter as well. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q: What type of temperament do Sheltie's have? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A: The temperament of the Sheltie is what has endeared him to so many owners. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| They are usually loyal and affectionate with their owners. Sheltie's are known to be easy to train and this is often due to their desire and willingness to please.� Sheltie's almost seem to train themselves at times. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| They are ever willing to do your every wish and ecstatic at the praise they receive. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sheltie's are relatively sensitive and do not need a hard hand when training.� They are not soft, though, and will stand up to criticism. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A Sheltie with the classic temperament is a bit standoffish with strangers, but not unfriendly.� There is a much wider range in temperament in modern shelties than there used to be and personalities will range from quiet, stay at home dogs, to active extroverts. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unfortunately, due to their popularity, more Sheltie's are being bred in puppy mills and by inexperienced, unknowledgeable breeders.� These dogs often have very poor temperaments, with characteristics such as fear biting, excessive shyness, nervousness, or extreme hyperness. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q:� What are some problems associated with having a sheltie? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A:� This is a good question to ask yourself if you are interested in getting a sheltie. No breed is right for everyone, and all breed have strong and weak points. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First, the sheltie is a long coated breed.� While his coat does require less care than some, you should expect to spend a minimum of 1-2 times a week brushing him which may take � hour to an hour depending on how full a coat he has. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| During shedding seasons, you may want to brush him every day to keep the hair level on the carpets down. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Second, the sheltie is a barker. The amount of barking varies with the individual dog and often with the number of dogs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Barking is often learned from other dogs and a house with a number of Sheltie's is invariably a noisy one. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sheltie's shouldn't bark all of the time. However they will bark to let you know something is up. (Someone at the door, something wrong, or something in the yard that doesn't belong.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If you are persistent though, you can often teach your dog to be quiet once they have done their job and sounded the alarm. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q: Are Sheltie's good with children? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A: Sheltie's are great with children. They can be protective, but most of the time it's in a way that they just alert you if something is wrong. Remember that Sheltie's are herding dogs.� As a result they will want to heard your smaller children. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q: Are Sheltie's good with other pets? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A: For the most part Sheltie's are great with other animals. It depends on how they were raised. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q: How are they with traveling? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A: This varies from dog to do. Some love to get in a car and go every where with you and some don?t. (Just like people) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q: Are Sheltie's easy to train? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A: Sheltie's are fairly easy to train. They thrive on attention and aim to please.� Using a harsh hand on a Sheltie will not work. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q: How much grooming do they require? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A: We think you would be surprised on the grooming of a Sheltie.� It is good to run a brush through their coat about one a week, but they don's need to be bathed that often, maybe once a month. Sometimes it depends on the weather and how muddy they are! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q:How much exercise do Sheltie's need? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A: Remember Sheltie's are a working breed. Plan on spending some time exercising your sheltie. They can adjust to living in an apartment, but then you will need to spend time outdoors with them so they can run off that excess energy they have built up during the day. Sheltie's are very active dogs. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q: Is it better to get a male or a female? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A: There really isn'tmuch of a difference between the two. Female do tend to shed a little more but not much. There temperaments are the same.� We have had great success with both. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q: Is there such a thing as a miniature Sheltie? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A: Absolutely not.� If you find a person that is claiming to have miniature Sheltie's runn. All they are doing is breeding under-sized Sheltie's. Almost all Sheltie litters have a small puppy in the litter just like all litters of any kind of animal. Not only do these breeders undermind the breeding standards of AKC and APRI but they charge a fortune and are deceiving you as well. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Okay, Your sold! Where do you get your very own Sheltie? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What ever you do don't go to a pet store! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make sure you go to a breeder where their Sheltie'shave been breed and raised in a clean home, have been given all necessary medical attention and socialization skills. These things are VERY IMPORTANT! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||