Portrait of blue merle Sheltie.
The Shetland Sheepdog, often known as the Sheltie and sometimes as the Shetland Collie, is a breed of dog in the herding dog group. Shelties have the herding dog temperament. They are vocal, excitable, energetic dogs who are always willing to please and hard workers. They were used in the Shetland Islands for herding and protecting sheep. They are small dogs, 13-16 inches at the withers by AKC Conformation standards, and they come in a variety of colors, such as Sable/White, Tri-color, Blue Merle, and so forth. Their early history is not well-known. They originally were a small mixed breed dog, often 8-10 inches in height. It is thought that they were a cross of a Spitz type dog from Scandinavia with the local sheepdog. In the early 1900's, James Loggie added a small show Collie to the stock, and the modern Shetland Sheepdog was born. The original name of the breed was Shetland Collie, but this caused controversy among Collie breeders, and the breed's official name was changed to Shetland Sheepdog.
Size: 3380px × 5050px
Location: Fairport, NY USA
Photo credit: © Peter Steiner / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: animal, blue-eyes, blue-merle, canine, cattle, companion, cute, dog, faithful, friend, fur, head, herd, herding, lively, long, mammal, pet, playful, portrait, sheep, sheepdog, sheltie, shepherd, shetland, vertical, working-dog
