JustJo
05-02-2005, 11:23 AM
Since I do not have the wonderful opportunity to photograph as many dogs as I did while in San Diego we will attempt a Dog Du Semaine (Dog of the Week).
This week's Dog Du Semaine is the Shetland Sheepdog. Obviously since I and my immediate family have had shelties and sheltie mixes over the past 31 years I am very fond of this breed. If bred well, the Shetland Sheepdog is one of the most intelligent of dog breeds that is very willing to please and obey. They make excellent agility and obedience trial dogs because they are easily trained and so smart. From my experience they are not heavy shedders (not compared to Bullwinkle!) except twice a year when they lose their dense undercoats and then that comes out in sheets almost. These dogs are barkers though! Shelties also have a tendency to chase cars if they are not properly trained. One thing I have noticed about shelties over the years is that I have met more and more high strung, neurotic and nervous shelties. This is from their popularity increasing and therefore BYB's and puppy mills are trying to exploit that fact. If you are interested in this breed and want a purebred you had better do extensive research into the breeder. Shelties need extensive socialization as puppies because they are instinctively very wary of strangers. Also from my experience you can't go wrong with a sheltie mix either. These are long-lived dogs, averaging 12 - 15 years, although only one of mine didn't make it to 16.
Annabelle - A bi-colored:
http://photos3.flickr.com/5852725_95dc7e6de1.jpg
http://photos5.flickr.com/7905150_56600a4415.jpg
This week's Dog Du Semaine is the Shetland Sheepdog. Obviously since I and my immediate family have had shelties and sheltie mixes over the past 31 years I am very fond of this breed. If bred well, the Shetland Sheepdog is one of the most intelligent of dog breeds that is very willing to please and obey. They make excellent agility and obedience trial dogs because they are easily trained and so smart. From my experience they are not heavy shedders (not compared to Bullwinkle!) except twice a year when they lose their dense undercoats and then that comes out in sheets almost. These dogs are barkers though! Shelties also have a tendency to chase cars if they are not properly trained. One thing I have noticed about shelties over the years is that I have met more and more high strung, neurotic and nervous shelties. This is from their popularity increasing and therefore BYB's and puppy mills are trying to exploit that fact. If you are interested in this breed and want a purebred you had better do extensive research into the breeder. Shelties need extensive socialization as puppies because they are instinctively very wary of strangers. Also from my experience you can't go wrong with a sheltie mix either. These are long-lived dogs, averaging 12 - 15 years, although only one of mine didn't make it to 16.
Annabelle - A bi-colored:
http://photos3.flickr.com/5852725_95dc7e6de1.jpg
http://photos5.flickr.com/7905150_56600a4415.jpg