Sheltie coats

kazie

kazie

Forums Regular
My sister-in-law says there are two kinds of Sheltie coats - fitted and full. Is this true? If so, what does it mean and how do I know which kind of coat my puppy, Luna, will have when she is full grown. She's 4 months old now. I'd post a picture but I'm new to the forum and haven't figured out how to do that yet. Thanks.
 
Welcome Kazie. To post a picture directly in your post you need to be a Premium Member. Otherwise you can save your photo to a free photo sharing site - like photobucket or flickr - and then paste the link into your post on Sheltie Forums. Like this http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo171/cp_2412/Xmas08016.jpg People are more than happy to follow a link

As for coat types. I've never heard of fitted and full. Every Sheltie has 2 coats - and undercoat (the soft fluffy stuff they grow in winter and lose in summer) and guard hairs which are the long outer coat they grow for years. As for different Shelties having different coats, not sure about that as the outer coats are meant to be coarse (although my female has a soft coat).
 
I've never heard of that either -- I suspect that's just a personal terminology. As Caro said, the ideal Sheltie coat should have coarse outer hair that easily sheds water and dirt, and a soft undercoat for warmth and summer cooling (which is why you never shave a Sheltie!). However, coats vary widely. My Beckon has the perfect full Sheltie coat. He always looks freshly groomed, and we can't even tell if he's dirty unless he starts to smell. Layla has a silky coat that also sheds water well. Penny has a soft, heavy coat, but it's almost frizzy and isn't long or flow-y. Bitsy has a velcro coat that collects everything!!

Some Shelties have a mature coat at nine months. Others don't get a mature coat for a couple of years -- and it seems that the older they get, the more coat they get. Layla had a lovely coat at six months, but Bitsy looked motheaten until she was over a year old!

I'm sure Luna will be lovely -- can't wait to see her!
 
Never heard that either!

My Laddie was the only sheltie I ever owned who had a sparse coat with little undercoat but a silky top coat. He was neutered way too early and I believe that is why he never coated up!
 
Yes, that is true, and it's usually applied to bitches. We sometimes call a girl's coat "fitted" when it's closer to her body than the more frequently seen poufy coat, which most males have. Both coat types are correct, and both are still double coats.
 
Ann said:
Yes, that is true, and it's usually applied to bitches. We sometimes call a girl's coat "fitted" when it's closer to her body than the more frequently seen poufy coat, which most males have. Both coat types are correct, and both are still double coats.
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Thanks, Ann. In doing more research, that is what I found. It seems a "fitted" coat has nothing to do with the undercoat/topcoat but with how closely the coat aligns to the body conformation. The article I read also made clear either coat is correct, neither if preferred and the fitted coat makes it easier to judge conformation.
 
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Caro said:
Welcome Kazie. To post a picture directly in your post you need to be a Premium Member. Otherwise you can save your photo to a free photo sharing site - like photobucket or flickr - and then paste the link into your post on Sheltie Forums. Like this http://i373.photobucket.com/albums/oo171/cp_2412/Xmas08016.jpg People are more than happy to follow a link

As for coat types. I've never heard of fitted and full. Every Sheltie has 2 coats - and undercoat (the soft fluffy stuff they grow in winter and lose in summer) and guard hairs which are the long outer coat they grow for years. As for different Shelties having different coats, not sure about that as the outer coats are meant to be coarse (although my female has a soft coat).
Click to expand...
 
Thanks. I thought I was a premium member but I guess I'll need to go back and check on that. I am really enjoying the forum.
 
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