Smooth Hair Shelties

BarbV said:
I agree with everyone here....particularly the last comment. That's why breeders spend so much time researching. Breeding choices can amplify certain characteristics and downplay others. Breed two short haired dogs together and voila....! That does not mean that the entire litter will be the same. Some will inherit different traits.
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I agree with that, but with one caveat. Continually breeding for a handful of characteristics while ignoring the literally thousands of phenotypes that are required to preserve the overall health of the species is, in the long run, going to hurt the breed in particular and the species in general. Nature takes care of this in her own way, while human artifice is hardly able to duplicate the effort.
 
Tabitha said:
Almost everyone is saying that Dixie looks full blood or almost full blood sheltie. So how was her mother and some of her brothers and sisters born with short fur?:confused2:
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She looks sheltie to me. Some shelties do not have a lot of fur as babies and that may account for some of the "shortness" of Dixie's fur you were seeing. OTOH some shelties are really puffy as babies. also bitches after they have puppies lose almost all their hair, OMG some are almost naked and if you saw her with short hair that may have something to do with it. The BYB was probably trying to make them more "rare" to sell them. Some tend to do that like the "rare" colors.

Take a look though my Justice album at some of his puppy pictures. He was pretty shorthaired at times. He did not get his full coat until almost 4 yrs. Genetics has a lot to do with it. Ember was the same way. She is his niece from his litter sister. No one would call Ember smooth coated.

http://www.sheltieforums.com/album.php?albumid=170
 
Dr Shelli, I'm not saying I think DIXIE has short hair (although it's MUCH shorter than any shelties I've ever had), but her mother (Lassie) and some of her siblings do. This is like a copy of her mother and it's a corgi, it look just like her other than it being happy (Lassie didn't EVER look happy at all:no:). She did have longer legs than a corgi and SOME sheltie characteristics, but not many.:(

PS I LOVE your shelties! They are so beautiful!:yes:
 
Looks like all Sheltie to me. Shoot, she's got more coat than my Trax does and I guarantee he's a Sheltie as I know his parents! :biggrin2:
 
I tend to get "smooth hair shelties" My Honey has VERY short hair, but always has. Ruutu is also verrry smooth haired, but he's only almost 8 months and still growing tons of hair. Needless to say, my mom says I should just accept I'm a smooth hair sheltie lover lol. Yes, she knows they don't exists, but just looking at them makes you wonder. Ruutu's mom is the same way, smooth and short. She tells me to call him my smooth coated collie... he's 17.5 inches and in fact, my instructor even thought he was a smooth coated collie when she first met him (she's a retired AKC agility judge)

Oh and to add: Ruutu's siblings who are blue merle all have full fluffy coats and even his tri sister does. He just doesn't (might still be growing it though), but he looks exactly like his mother.

And Miss Honey, she doesn't even have an under layer of hair.. and if she does, I can't find it which is how short her hair is.
 
Are you able to post any pix of Honey and Ruutu (and Ruutu's mother if you have any)? I'd really like to see them.:yes:
Thanks Melbell!:smile2:
 
Looks like sheltie to me. Gem, my grandpuppy, had hair just like that. The double merles from the mill bust still do and they are coming 2 years old. Gem now has lovely coat and we can see the length and fullness starting on the mill kids.
BTW Every Norwich terrier I know is double coated and is stripped to achieve the look.
 
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