Shetland Sheepdog

The Shetland sheep dogs are said to be somehow related to the rough collie breed of dogs and both these dogs, the rough collie and the Shetland sheepdogs are said to have developed from what originally was the Border collie. The Shetland sheepdog, take their origination from the land of Shetland in Scotland, thus their name, Shetland sheep dog. It is quite obvious from their name that they were mainly used for the purpose of being a sheep dog. The Shetland sheepdogs are said to be a result of a crossing between the rough collie and a breed called the Icelandic Yakkin. The Icelandic Yakkin was a local breed of the island; it is however, now extinct. The Shetland sheepdogs were completely developed by as early as the 1700s.

The dogs of this breed were used for both herding as well as guarding the sheep flock. The dogs are very hard workers and are also very willing to work; they are very gentle while they are herding the sheep flock. These dogs were recognized as a breed by the American kennel club as an official breed with proper set standard in the year of 1911. Today however, they are more famous as companion dogs than they are as sheep dogs. They are multi talented dogs and some of their talents include, herding, tracking, guarding, agility, watch dog, competitive obedience and these dogs are also said to be very good at performing tricks.

The Shetland sheep dog has a lot of similarities to the rough coated collie, other than the fact that the Shetland sheep dogs are a little smaller in size when compared to the size of the rough coated collie. When this dog is viewed at from the side, their head resembles a shape of a very blunt wedge.Their muzzle tapers slightly starting from their ears and ending at their nose. This muzzle comes to a rather slight stop. Their teeth generally meet to form a strong and an equally powerful scissor bite. They have the presence of a black colored nose. They have the presence of almond shaped eyes. These almond shaped eyes are generally very dark in color. However, some dogs have been reported to have blue colored eyes, but this appears only on those dogs that have a blue merle colored coat. They have a pair of small sized ears.

These small ears are generally only three fourth erect and the rest one fourth of the ears are folded in the forward direction. They have an arched neck which is also very muscular in nature. They have quite a long tail. This long tail is rather heavily feathered. Their tail is generally carried straight down or tit is sometimes carried slightly curved in the upward direction. The dogs of this breed are double coated in nature, that is, they have the presence of the outer coat and the inner coat. This double coat is very abundant in nature; it is very long and is found on all the parts of the body. Their double coat is a little shorter in the head and the legs region when compared to the length of the coat on the rest of the body.