Welcome to Sheltie Planet

Shelties, or Shetland Sheepdogs, are small, double-coated dogs from the windswept Shetland islands. Early Shelties were smart and resilient, roughing the harsh weather and rugged Scottish terrain. As modern pets, they retain their superior intelligence and sensitivity to their environment. Most pet Shelties are also very vocal, making them a highly expressive dog breed. In short, they love to herd—and be heard!

With flowing fur and a distinctive long nose, Shetland Sheepdogs have a striking appearance. To the uninitiated, they look like Mini Lassies—the result of historic cross-breeding with Rough Collies into their distinct ancestral lines.

Rough Collie vs Sheltie.

You can recognize a Sheltie by the long, straight, thick double coat; the long, tapering, dainty face; the fluffy, low-set tail; and the smooth, agile gait. American Shelties are slightly larger at 13-16 inches to the withers (shoulders) while the ideal English Sheltie is 14-14.5 inches. See my articles on the six Sheltie coat colors for photos, illustrations, and coat inheritance patterns, as well as an in-depth look at miniature Shelties.

The Sheltie Coat Colors

A showcase of the standard Sheltie colors (Pure Sable, Mahogany Sable, Tri Color, Blue Merle, Bi Black, and Bi Blue) and the color genes that make them.

7 Facts About Mini Shelties

While controversial, Miniature Shelties (aka Toy Shelties) are a variation of the standard Shetland Sheepdog that measure less than 13 inches tall.

How Do I Groom My Sheltie?

Perhaps the most important thing new Shelties owners need to realize: that luxurious double coat comes with the responsibility of routine grooming. Long-haired ladies know what I mean. At around 5-6 months old, Sheltie puppies develop a double coat containing soft, dense underfluff that must be brushed out every week or it becomes matted. Severe matting is painful, promotes skin infections, and diminishes the ability to thermoregulate. See how to groom a Shetland Sheepdog for a full breakdown.

How to Groom a Sheltie

The double coat of a Sheltie needs frequent grooming. Here's my guide to systematically de-shedding the undercoat and untangling mats.

The Best Brushes for Shelties

The Sheltie's double coat demands specialized dog brushes. We found the best de-shedding combs and slicker brushes for grooming time.

Are Shelties Good Family Dogs?

These furry little munchkins make wonderful family pets as long as they're well-socialized with children early on. This means exposing your puppy to children of all ages so they can become familiar with their behaviors. Once your Sheltie is comfortable around kids, they can join in with all family activities: herding balls along the beach, playing hide-and-seek, or zooming around with no apparent purpose whatsoever.

Don't worry if your Sheltie puppy frequently nips and play bites when they're young. Puppies explore with their mouths and sometimes their teeth get in the way—not to mention chewing encourages adult teeth to emerge. Puppy nipping can be frustrating and the best solution is to yelp sharply, withdraw from play for a few seconds, and redirect them to a toy instead. Once the adult teeth are in, bite inhibition teaches dogs it's never ok for their teeth to make firm contact with your skin.

Are Shelties Good Family Dogs?

Known for being a gentle, playful, and loyal breed, Shelties do make good family dogs as long as they're socialized with children early on in life.

Shelties vs Babies

It's natural to be apprehensive when you bring your newborn baby home. Here's how to make it easier on your dogs, your baby, and you.

What's The Sheltie Temperament Like?

Shelties are sweet, quirky, and expressive. They can be trained to stop barking with firmness and consistency, as well as encouraged to speak, howl, and sing! Being a small dog breed, Shetland Sheepdogs are naturally gentle, while as alarm dogs, they'll alert you to any unusual sights, sounds, and smells. Quirk example: Howard always barked at the smell of bleach and Piper always howled at the answering machine.

Shelties can get along well with other pets—even cats, as long as they can stand their ground under the pressue of being herded. Once your Sheltie has cornered the poor feline, he won't know what to do. Ideally she'll walk away all sassy, thus reducing his instinct to chase and control her next time. Exposing your Sheltie to other animals early on helps familiarize them while they're still highly accepting of the world.

10 Things to Know About Shelties

Once bred to be small working dogs, Shelties have a lot going on in the brains department, making them sensitive, eager, and easy to train.

The Shetland Sheepdog FAQ

Common questions about Sheltie temperament, intelligence, lifespan, health, grooming, puppies, breeders, adoption, training, and more.

Should I Get a Sheltie Puppy?

With their big floppy ears, beautiful almond eyes, and silky soft fur, the Sheltie puppy can be deliberately cute on demand. Still, puppies are hard work. They demand constant supervision so they don't pee everywhere, chew on cables, get stuck in small places, or escape through fence holes. There's also the responsibility of housetraining, obedience, puppy vaccinations, neutering/spaying, and socialization.

If you can handle all this and have $1,000-$2,000 for a Sheltie puppy, make sure you reach out to a reputable breeder. You'll also need to have your puppy desexed for $200-$600 in their first year. If this is all too much, you can always rescue a Sheltie instead for around $150-600. Rescue Shelties are already de-sexed and vaccinated, and are very much in need of a forever family.

How to Housetrain a Puppy

Housetraining a puppy is best started indoors by scenting puppy training pads with their urine. Transition them outside around four months old.

20 Things a Puppy Needs

You're getting a new puppy! Praise Wibblesniff! This puppy checklist details all the essential stuff you need before you bring home your new best friend.

How Do I Train My Sheltie?

The number one rule of dog training is to build a relationship based on mutual trust and respect. So before you begin obedience training, focus on forming a loving bond with your Shetland Sheepdog so you can understand his needs and instincts, while allowing him to understand and develop trust in you. Show affection, define boundaries, and treat any breaches with kindness but firmness.

Our special AGM voted on the purchase of more Peanut Butter Futures

Our last AGM voted on the purchase of more Peanut Butter Futures.

What's the best way to train a Sheltie? Like children, dogs need to be shown the rules explicitly before they can follow them. Clicker training is based on classical conditioning with positive reinforcement. When paired with a food reward, clicking habituates the appropriate response with the goal of removing the food reward entirely. It's a natural way train new behaviors, sometimes in as little as six repetitions.

Clicker Train Your Sheltie

Clicker training is a gentle approach to dog training that uses classical conditioning, making it ideal for Shelties learning obedience.

How to Train Your Sheltie

Shelties make dog training easy because they're intelligent and eager dogs. But problems can arise if you miscommunicate with them.

Are Shelties a Healthy Dog Breed?

Well-bred Shelties are very healthy. In terms of lifespan, they typically live for 12-14 years, which equates to humans in their 70s. Your Sheltie is more likely to enjoy a long lifespan if you take care of his diet, exercise, vaccinations, and dental hygiene.

However, historic inbreeding left many dog breeds with a pool of common genetic diseases. In Shelties, this pool includes patellar luxation, hip dysplasia, dermatomyositis, Collie eye, and Von Willebrand Disease. To flush these out, ethical breeders only mate pairs that are confirmed free of these disease genes. Unfortunately, if your Sheltie came from a puppy mill or pet store, there's a high risk of her possessing these genetic issues. Watch out for the early symptoms or run a home DNA test to rule them out.