Sheltie Coat Question

M

motherwolf

Forums Novice
Hi y'all!
I am getting a 9 month old male sheltie this Friday and I am a little concerned about his coat. Is his coat normal for a 9 month old? It seems a little short. They owners told me he is a purebred sheltie. I am paying $200 for him.... Shelties are usually more expensive but hey I'm not complaining. Lol this will be my first sheltie and I am super excited. What do y'all think? Purebred??? Is his short coat normal for a 9 month old?? Click link to see pictures of him. Thanks for the input!

http://s92.photobucket.com/user/michelle_rodriguez1/library/Mobile Uploads
 
Coat does seem rather short, but a full coat can take up to 3 years. I have a shortcoated sheltie and believe me, grooming is a breeze. Not sure I really want the big sheltie coat esp. since I live in a rather hot location.

The most important thing is health and personality. Coat, eh.
 
Just my opinion, I am not sure he is purebred. From the pics alone he looks mixed with blue heeler possibly. But he is a handsome boy. You can have your vet do a genetic test, not sure about cost. My Riley is 5 months old and lost his puppy coat and has started to grow his silky adult coat. Enjoy your new furbaby!
 
No, that's not normal. Even when they have puppy hair, at 9 months the hair on the tail and belly is longer.

Short coat is dominant in all breeds, I suspect something has crossed paths here.
 
JessicaR said:
Did they shave him? If not then I would say he is mixed
Click to expand...

I got the feeling that he was trimmed and shaved. The fur on the sides of his face look too neat to be natural.

If not trimmed and shaved, he is most likely mixed with another breed. His fur is way too short for a 9 month old Sheltie.
 
He has the body and head shape of a sheltie and that colouring is Blue Merle. I think the coat has been shaved as it is all over the same length, no whispiness, no fluffiness over the ears. The only other way you'd get that is in short coated dogs like Labradors or short coated Border Collies. I would have picked him for a blue merle Border Collie or maybe Australian shepherd (or a cross breed).

There was a recent thread by a member with a short coated sheltie of the same age here http://www.sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=20525&page=2 Notice the pup still has whispiness and there is feathering on back of the front and back legs and he has fluffy ears. I've also attached a pic of my female sheltie at 6mths which may be a bit clearer - even with a short coat she has that fluff on the back of the head and you'll see that the coat is not even all over.

Ask the person you are buying it from if the dog has been shaved - although shaving would be a strange thing to do to a 9mth old as the coat isn't long at that age. Otherwise it looks like he won't get more coat and is probably a mix breed.
 

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I agree, not the normal coat of a 9 month old. I suspect this is not purebred and that there is more than Sheltie here, may be why the $200 price tag you questioned. If you're concerned he is not purebred, you may want to ask a few more questions of the seller. He is however, a handsome lad, enjoy your new family member.
 
Wait: is this the rehome that was posted on the shelties available facebook page? If so, good on you.
I've known pure-bred "smooth" shelties. Now, they were not well bred, but they were shelties.

He may never have the fluffy coat that most shelties have, but he will be easier to groom. Good luck with him.
 
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