Video:Shetland Sheepdogs

Transcript:Shetland Sheepdogs

My name is Lori of Vogue Shelties, and today I am going to tell you about my favorite breed, the Shetland Sheepdog, otherwise known as the Sheltie.

The Sheltie Look

Shelties come in a variety of colors. There is sable and white, which is the most familiar to people. They think of Lassie. There is tri-color, there is bi-blue, bi-black, bi-merle, sable-merle.

Shelties Are Social, and Quick Learners

They are an excellent breed with families and children. There is a lot of bonding, they are smart, and shelties prefer human contact over being with other dogs, but all kinds of shelties are in pet homes with other breeds of dogs and cats, hamsters, things like that. They excel in obedience. They excel in agility.

They are known for barking. That is something people should be aware of when they are looking for a purebred dog. If they do not want a dog who has a lot to talk about, they really need to think that out.

Grooming Your Shetland Sheepdog, or Sheltie

You should brush your sheltie once a week. Take a spray bottle and mist them with water, get a hair brush with straight pins- not little balls on the end - straight pins, and brush the coat against the way it grows. If you do that once a week you can keep up with any shedding. You should also trim the nails every 7 to 10 days. You do not want to bathe the sheltie too often, because you do not want to dry out the natural skin oils. They are a double coated breed, that is why you want to pin brush to get down through the hard upper coat to the soft undercoat, and misting them before you brush them prevents coat breakage. It also keeps your brush clean.

Exercising Your Sheltie

If you have a fenced in back yard, which is the best, a couple hours a day they can be out running around. Take the ball and play fetch with them. If you need to walk your dog each day, a walk in the morning and a walk at night. A lot of interaction when you are at home. A young dog is going to have a lot of energy, pent up they need to get that out. Walks are good. Going out and fetching the tennis ball, that sort of thing. But they are not a hyper high-energy dog.