I'm by no means an expert on the Shetland Sheepdog (Sheltie) and I am still learning alot about them but I can say from experiance that they are a loving family dog who are very eager to please and easily trainable. And they also get on great with my Cavaliers. So I have put below a few facts about the Sheltie that I have learnt along the way.

Appearance

Several coat colours exist. There are three main acceptable show colours:

            Sable (ranging from golden through mahogany) 

            Tricolour (black, white, and tan) 

             Blue Merle (grey, white, black, and tan)

Bi-Blues (grey, black, and some white) and bi-blacks (white and black) are less common but still acceptable. The best-known colour is the sable, which is dominant over other colours.  Shaded, or mahogany, sables can sometimes be mistaken for Tricolour Shelties due to the large amount of dark shading on their coats.

Another acceptable colour in the show ring, but much less seen, is the sable merle, which can often be hard to distinguish from regular sables after puppy hood. Double Merles, the product of breeding two Merle Shelties together, can be bred but have a higher incidence of deafness or blindness or retardation than the other coat colours.

The height of a Sheltie (at the withers) can range from 13-16 inches (33-40.6 cm) The weight is between 6.4-12.3 kg (14-27 pound)

Life Expectancy is about 12-15 years

Exercise

The herding instinct is still strong in many Shelties. They love to chase things, including squirrels, ducks, and children. When people are milling around the yard, Shelties sometimes try to "herd" the people into a group by running around, barking, and nipping at heels. This tendency appears most when children run around the yard in a group. Shelties love to run in wide-open areas.

Eyes

The two basic forms of inherited eye diseases/defects in Shelties are Collie eye anomaly (CEA) and progressive retinal atrophy (PRA). CEA can be detected in young puppies by a veterinary ophthalmologist. The disease involves the retina. It is always bilateral although the severity may be disparate between eyes. Other accompanying defects (ophthalmic anomalies) may wrongly indicate a more severe manifestation of CEA. CEA is present at birth and although it cannot be cured, it doesn't progress. That is, the severity of the disease at birth will not change throughout the dog's life. CEA is scored similar to the way hips are. In some countries, the Sheltie gene pool is limited so breeders will breed with a very low scoring CEA. However, most breeders are actively trying to breed this disease out by only breeding with dogs that have "clear" eyes or very low scoring eyes. A CEA score considered too high to breed with may still be low enough not to affect the dog's life. These dogs live happy and healthy lives as pets but should be neutered and not used for breeding. Most breeders have all their adults and every litter tested. Some breeders will supply a certificate from the vet to all their puppy purchasers.

Grooming

Shelties have a double coat. The topcoat consists of long, straight, water-repellent hair, which provides some protection from cold and the elements. The undercoat is short, furry, and very dense in order to help keep the dog warm. The Sheltie is usually a clean dog and should only need to be brushed once or twice a week (it is helpful to spray-mist with water when brushing). Mats can be commonly found behind the ears, under the elbow on each front leg, and in the fluffy fur on the hind legs (the "skirts"). Although its coat might appear to be a time-consuming task, a once-weekly, but thorough, brushing is all that is needed, though more frequent grooming will contribute to a beautiful and tidy coat. Shelties 'blow' coat usually twice a year, often at spring and Autumn, and should be groomed more often at those times. A good brushing with an undercoat rake, which removes the dead and loose hair from its coat daily, should reduce the amount of hair that is shed. It is easiest to teach a dog to tolerate, or even enjoy, grooming if they are shown that it is a pleasurable thing from a young age. Breeders usually teach the dogs to lie on their side, be brushed, and then flip over to the other side. Toenails and hair between the pads need to be trimmed every couple of weeks. Most Shelties learn to love the attention that grooming provides, if the routine is started when the dog is still young.

Intelligence

Shelties have a high level of intelligence. According to Dr. Stanley Coren, an expert on animal intelligence, the Shetland Sheepdog is one of the brightest dogs, ranking 6th out of 132 breeds tested. His research found that an average Sheltie could understand a new command in less than 5 repetitions and would obey a command the first time it was given 95% of the time or better. Because of his kindly disposition, the Sheltie has become one of today’s most popular companion dogs. Some of the Shelties talents include: tracking, herding, watch dogging, guarding, agility, competitive obedience, and performing tricks

A Bit of History

The Sheltie came from the Shetland Islands off the north coast of mainland Scotland. Unlike many miniature breeds that resemble their larger counterparts, this breed was not developed by selectively breeding the Rough Collie for smaller and smaller sizes. Rather, it is the result of the intermingling of Border Collies and possibly several other herding breeds over the past several centuries. Its exact origins are not known, but the most-often cited ancestors of the breed include the Border Collie (or its ancestors), the Yakki (also Yakkie or Yakkin) dog (a dog kept and bred by Greenland whalers), and the Icelandic sheepdog.

The year 1909 marked the initial recognition of the Sheltie by the English Kennel Club and the first Sheltie to be registered by the American Kennel Club was "Lord Scott" in 1911.

Ironically, the Shetland sheepdog is rarely found in Shetland, having been replaced by the Border collie.