Shetland Sheepdog (Detailed Introduction)

       The Shetland Sheepdog is an intelligent, sensitive medium-small breed. It originated in the 20th century in Scotland and is named Shetland sheepdog due to its place of origin, abbreviated as “Sheltie.”

       The Shetland Sheepdog is very similar to the Collie. Its lineage can be traced back to the time when the Scottish Border Collie was brought to the Shetland Islands. At that time, the Scottish Border Collie was bred with smaller, intelligent, long-haired dogs, resulting in a downsized breed. Later, it was occasionally bred with long-haired Collies. Therefore, the current Shetland Sheepdog’s size and general appearance relationship with the long-haired Collie is like that between the Shetland pony and the larger horse.

       The Shetland Sheepdog has a history of more than a hundred years and is one of the most popular breeds in Japan, mainly distributed in the UK and North America.