Why did you get a Sheltie?

[Toffee's Mom]

Thanks for making this a topic of its own! I really love the stories and the pictures, as well!

Do I detect a bit of a common denominator here of Shelties we met when we were children and in the back of our minds they left impressions? That's quite impressive when I think about it!
A little dog, named Elaine, owned by my neighbour when I was a little girl, left such a lasting impression that 30some years later and 5000 kilometres further, I finally got one of my very own

I just love Sheltie personalities, the smarts, the fun/saucy side, yet such great working dogs in a small package, oh so eager to please and reading your mind (sometimes too well, lol) ...

Another reason I did NOT get a Boxer or another German Shepherd again is evidenced if Toffee snaps a little at a young, big-breed dog in order to tell it off, to try and teach them to be more polite dog greeters, I am grateful people aren't threatened by it, lol. My Boxer or the Shepherd never caught such breaks at the dog park
Second I got compliments that at least this small dog has a big dog bark, lol

 

[Phebe*DD]

Holy cow oh my..is that ever a gorgeous dog!

Her photos still take my breath away. That photo was taken in October 2008. It's still hard for me to believe that she was abandoned on the street by someone and I still wonder what led up to that circumstance. She about 18 months old when I found her, housebroken with excellent house manners, and unspayed.

In many ways, Foxy rescued me. I had been through a very rough time personally and really didn't trust people much. I can't entirely explain it, but taking her in and working with her in obedience helped me more than any amount of therapy ever could. I often think that God sent me an angel with fur when Foxy came to live with us.

 

[PitterPatter]

Growing up we had the outside working dogs and the inside dog. By far the smartest dog we had was a collie/sheppard mix. He had all the markings of a collie but not as long of a nose and larger eyes than collies. He seemed to understand everything. Living out in the country people seemed to think, just dump off their unwanted dog, and let him fend for himself. So we seemed to have more than our share.

So along the way there was a yorkie, German sheppard, cattle dog, huskies, beagle, and various dumped mixes.

When my oldest son was turning three we decided to get him a puppy. At the time we were dogless and felt he would benefit from an occasional lick on the face. I've always liked long hair dogs. I didn't want a hunting dog because they are so-o ruled by their nose. I also didn't want a big dog. Someone had mentioned a sheltie, and since I had been so impressed with our collie mix I thought this might be the dog. Small, similar in characteristics and a herding dog.

So Chewey came home. She was a blue merle and grew up to be a tiny little princess. She loved everyone but didn't like getting her feet wet. And when you live in the pacific northwest that can be an issue.

Our next Sheltie, my youngest son was determined to help me pick her out. He had wanted to get a Australian sheppard, but I told him we were going to stick with a Sheltie. Chewey had been a great dog and I could see no reason to change breeds. So our only change was color. Maxey was a sable merle. She looked like a sable but her coat had a slight silver sheen. She became my dog. She was not into people or other dogs. But as far as minding and being a perfect pet you couldn't ask for a better dog. When she got sick, I was not going to get another dog.

That didn't last very long, so I was on the hunt for a new dog. I had basically left my name with a breeder and had decided I would just have to wait when I ran across another breeder on the Internet. She actually had a pup that she didn't think was going to be tall enough to show/breed. So Lacey was 16 weeks when I got her.

I love the shelties because they are so easy to train. Lovely fur but not so big that their tails become coffee table sweepers. Easy to pick up, if needed, since they are more hair than weight. And they seem to understand when you are talking to them. Or maybe it's just that Sheltie look.

 

[Smudge]

My family got a sheltie kind of by mistake. We were looking for a rough collie and ended up with a sheltie. My cousin had a rough collie named Lady, and we all loved Lady. We went to the animal shelter and found a rough collie, but my mom decided that she wanted a puppy. So we left the poor rough collie at the shelter. One of the guys who worked at the shelter said that his relative bred shelties, and that they were a lot like rough collies, only smaller. He gave us her phone number, and a short time later Gizmo came home.

I like the fluffiness. A short haired breed is not for me. Shelties are just great. Have you ever heard anybody say they didn't like a sheltie? No. You have not. I like the way they sleep on their back with all four legs up. Smudge fell asleep in his doghouse (outside, no less!) upside down. Gizmo used to do that all the time. You couldn't even tell he was a dog. It was just fur with four paws sticking up.

 

[mbfrench]

My hubby can tell you I have wanted a sheltie for years,it's all I have talked about. Although even in my first marriage,I longed for one,it never came to be. We raised 13" beagles,years ago.

But one night,and it was pure fate,thanks to FaceBook and a game that I was playing there,I met Elaine. We got to talking about our fur kids,while playing & chatting that day. And she told me she had a sheltie.

I told her it was a dream of mine to one day own one of these magnificiant dogs. The personality,intelligence,they are so eager to please,and over all just a great dog. That night was just magical for me,as she told me about this forum,and Janet's recent new litter from Sasha.

Thank you Elaine, I don't know how I can ever say thank you enough,because of you,it is going to happen..in 10 days,I will bring Trapp home!

 

[danisgoat]

Why wouldn't I get a Sheltie is the real question!

We have ours because the are smart, beautiful, athletic, versatile, and sweet. The perfect little companion.

 

[lotsahair]

I have always been partial to labs, and I absolutely LOVE the look of the BC's. I finally talked hubby into getting a dog, but he had some strict requirements: it had to be a small dog. I never really cared for the small dogs. But, we found the Sheltie, and both felt that this would be the right match. Perfect size, smart, and of course beautiful.

They are very much like cats. She bats the balls around with her paws, plays with cat toys, and that trot! I love it! I've only had her 3 months, but I am already wanting another!

 

[JessicaR]

I grew up with big dogs, my parents always had german shepherds and/or great danes. My first dog that my parents gave me for christmas when I was 11 was a shepherd/chow/wolf mix. I loved that dog, but he was an outdoor dog, my parents didnt believe in taking animals to the vet so he would mark in the house. When I got married and we bought our house I knew i wanted an indoor dog, but my husband wanted cats. I never thought I would like a small dog, but the one compromise from my husband was he wanted it to be a small dog not a big one. I knew I wanted a herding breed and actually i wanted a collie, so I got a "mini collie" instead. Now I have 4 shelties and could not see myself not having at least 1 sheltie. I still would like to someday have a GSD like I grew up with, but the sheltie will always hold a special place in my heart.

 

[Esme]

My daughter had been waging a quiet but persistent campaign for a dog for a couple of years. Every book she brought home from the school library had a dog on the cover. Every time we were in the car she pointed out people with dogs. It wasn't that we didn't like dogs or want a dog but my oldest child is profoundly disabled and we were just very concerned about how he and a dog would react to each other.

But eventually she wore us down so I started researching breeds that were good with kids and families, breeds often used as therapy dogs, breeds that could handle a Minnesota winter, breeds that were small yet still easy to train. And shelties kept showing up. We took the plunge in May and so far it has worked out better then expected. Kasey has been a wonderful addition to the family.

Sometimes though, when I look at how beautiful she is, I think I really just wanted one so I made up all the good reasons

 

[Silaria]

Growing up, my mom didn't want pets, even though she had dogs when she was younger. It wasn't until I moved out on my own that I was able to bringing animals into my life.

I have to be honest, my first love when it comes to dog breeds in the Husky. I think they are one of the most beautiful creatures on this Earth. However, I'm also smart enough to realize that my lifestyle is NOT conducive to the amount of exercise needs of the Husky.

My first dog, which really was my husband's dog since he had her before we got married, was our Finnish Spitz, Melody. She was incredibly smart but very independent and cat-like. She only wanted attention when she wanted it otherwise she's put herself away from the family but where she could still watch what was going on; almost like a queen watching over her kingdom. We had to put Mel to sleep back in February of this year, just over a month after her 17th birthday.

Shortly after Glen and Melody moved in, we adopted Candy, my Malamute mix. She was a sweetheart; a shelter save from the Humane Society. Her previous owners, according to the HS, were moving and couldn't take her. She was in the shelter less than 24 hours before we adopted her. I'm sure it was a very hard time for her because of the amount of changes in such a short time. Candy was a very calm, loving dog, who, unlike Mel, wanted to be with her people. We gave Candy a wonderful life for the 12+ years she was with us. We had to put her to sleep about 2 years ago when her kidney's started to fail. (It's quite possible she was a victim of the poisoned food issue that was so wide spread in 2007. She was on Iams Chunky pouch food at the time because it was all she could eat without choking due to a maxi-esophagus.)

For about a year, we only had Melody. Honestly, it was hard on me and I was jealous of Glen because Mel really only wanted HIS attention when she wanted attention.

Around this same time, I started watching agility on TV. The sport looked like a LOT of fun and I just LOVED the look of admiration and love the dogs gave their handlers after a run. *I* wanted that sort of relationship with my dog. Slowly I started researching breeds; I really wasn't quite ready to "replace" Candy. I knew we wanted another smaller to medium sized dog. I also knew we had to get a breed that was going to be fairly compatible with our (then) 15 year Finkie. I also wanted a dog breed that had an aptitude toward agility. Our short list included the Alaskan Klee Kia (because of my love for Husky's), Shiba Inu (it had a fox-like look about it which we liked), American Eskimo Dog (which looked like Mel except for being white and a longer coat), and the Sheltie (we always thought the Sheltie was an adorably cute dog when we'd see people walking them).

The Klee Kia was eliminated because of price, honestly. Most breeders we contacted wanted well over $1,000 for a puppy and we couldn't afford that. The Shiba Inu because a lot of what I read said they could be a bit aggressive with their food and toys; a chance we didn't want to take with our 15 year old. That left the Eskie and Sheltie.

It just happened that shortly after the short list got down to two that the Greater Pittsburgh Dog Show was going on that weekend; and they were also going to be running an Agility trial. We figured it would be a great opportunity to go and talk to breeders and agility folks to learn more about the breeds I was interested in. We actually ended up talking mostly the agility folks which probably gave me better information on the breeds than talking to the breeders would have. (Honestly, I was also too shy to talk to the breeders til close to the end of the day.)

What I learned was that the Eskie personality could possibly give us another dog like Mel - stand offish and cat-like. I didn't want that; I wanted a dog that wanted to be WITH the family; not necessarily a lap dog but at least in the same room. (I learned this is what I missed most about Candy during research into what type of dog I wanted to bring home.)

That left me with the Sheltie. A dog that wanted to please and wanted to be with their owner/family. Had a natural tendency toward agility. Intelligent. (I LOVE intelligent dogs.) The only thing I wasn't sure about was the shyness toward strangers because we ALWAYS have someone at the house. That wasn't enough to be a deterrent though.

At that point, near the end of the day, I finally got the nerve to talk to a breeder. Somehow I managed to be talking to a local Sheltie owner who was involved with our local Sheltie club. She pointed me to the person in the club who matches up prospective buyers with breeders with puppies or other dogs available for adoption. That in turn lead me to Cathy and a, then, 6 month old Edan. Two months later I had a my little boy home.

Edan stole my heart right away. I can't imagine him not being here. He's been a mama's boy from day one. We have such a fantastic relationship; better than I ever had with Candy or Mel even though I loved both of them also. I doubt I'll ever have any other breed. The Sheltie is a lot of love, intelligence, beauty, and grace in the perfect size package. Whoever said "Good things come in small packages" must have been owned by a Sheltie.