Shetland sheepdog (Shelties) as farm/family dog... Any opinions?

[EquusMagnificus]

I seriously covet a Shetland sheepdog. They seem perfectly adapted to our needs on paper.

Please tell me your real life experiences!

I have two very young kids, a small farm with mares and foals and a very small house.

I previously owned a GSD/Doberman cross whom I adored and was perfect in every aspect, excepted her size and that she didn’t like young kids after all… She was 5 years old when my first was born and she never really adapted… We found her a fantastic home with a retired couple, also horse breeders. :yes: She’s happy as a clam! But man, we still miss her.

I wonder specifically how are they for outdoor activities and how are their watchdog capacities? While I know it won’t guard like a GSD will, will they warn properly? Will they also shut up when asked after they have warned or will they bark forever?

I’m telling you, if it wasn’t for the kids, I would have never given up my dog. I am basically looking for her, in a smaller size and kid-friendly. :yes:

[Kate66]

I had to google “Shetland Sheepdog” as I didn’t realise that was just a Sheltie. I don’t know much about them unfortunately, other than they are herders just like the other collie types. Good luck - they are cute dogs - I just couldn’t deal with that hair on the farm.

[EquusMagnificus]

Thanks Kate66!

I modified the title to make it easier to find for people.

[S1969]

My SIL has two in a non-farm family and they are great little dogs. Very friendly with her kids, although they weren’t too young when they got their first sheltie, so I’m not sure about the herding behavior. But they are pretty small so not intimidating to younger kids.

My only thought about them is they seem to be pretty delicate as puppies - my SIL’s 1st puppy broke her leg jumping off a bed. So I would think as wee pups you’d have to extra careful your kids were gentle with them, which can be hard for kids at certain ages (they want to carry little dogs around). Obviously when grown up they are sturdy and agile, and smart. Probably need to have a job or two to keep them out of trouble.

[bdj]

Haven’t ever lived with a sheltie (though I see a ton of them at agility trials), but PM Laurierace - she has one now, and it sounds like he’s a pretty awesome barn dog.

[Roxyllsk]

I have 2 of them - both rescued as adults - and the BO where my horse lives has had a ‘series’ of them. Wonderful dogs, very intelligent, very willing to please, a little on the shy side with strangers. Not really good ‘guard dogs’ per se. Both my dogs, who go to the barn with me, and the BO’s dog have learned to NOT chase horses/ chickens/ whatever. It’s not hard to teach them this at all.

Their coats do take some maintenance, but nothing horrible. I brush mine every few days when I’m sitting watching TV. The younger one still doesn’t really like it much, but willingly comes over when I have the brush and call him because he knows it’s what I want him to do (and the yummy treats help too).

The BO has had several different breeds, but swears she will only have shelties as farm dogs.

They do have the best personalities - I have never myself had a dog that tries to please me so much as my shelties. They are working dogs, so they do need quite a bit of exercise. But they are happy chasing tennis balls in the yard or ‘helping’ do farm chores. My older sheltie (before he started slowing down) loved to help me turn out the horses at the farm - he would circle us the entire time, never getting really close to the horses or nipping (that was a big no no from day 1), just doing big circles and ‘watching’ the horse with the eagle eye. Then I would reset the jumps in the ring and he would love running around, barking his head off, and jumping them all.

They are ‘barky’ dogs, although they do not have that high pitched yap. They really like to talk about everything.

My old sheltie is 16 now, and when it’'s his time to go over the bridge, I will def be getting another one. Best dogs I’ve ever had.

[EquusMagnificus]

They just sound so perfect for us!

I am well aware of the coat thing… Unfortunately, no other breed seems even remotely interesting to me… You know, I have to find it pretty to look at too.

[wendy]

they bark. A lot. At everything. I don’t know how you’d use one as a watchdog because you’d never realize when it was “warning” and when it was just “barking”, and most seem to be extremely friendly, why warn about the stranger when he might have food?
Also heard they tend not to do very well with smaller children, finding them frightening.
Plus they need quite a bit of “mental stimulation”, e.g., work, just hanging out on the farm might not be enough for them.

[amm2cd]

Now, I don’t actually have a sheltie…

I am petsitting my sister’s for the month though, so I have opinions about him and we had shelties growing up.

As a watchdog… well, he’s certainly more on top of things than my poodles. Snow sliding off the roof? He’s on it. Garage door opening? Check plus. Horses coming in to eat? He’ll let you know!

If you don’t like the yappy herding dog type, these guys are NOT for you. Oh, and he sheds (of course I notice this more than otherwise, because my poodles don’t shed at all).

All in all, the shelties I’ve known make convenient, travel sized farm dogs… as long as you are ok with the barking

[Bicoastal]

Calling on Lazy Palimino Hunter

…she just got a merle girl and started a thread titled Puppy Pictures.

As others have said, they are barky. You will no problem with watchdog warning. Getting them to stop will take some training :lol:. Some can be timid and they are a herding breed so running kids will excite them. Must train kids and dogs.

They are pretty popular in active households. If you up the challenge of brushing out the coat after every. single. trip. to the barn and you want a watchdog, you are on the right track.

Once you get your newest member, you must start agility! They are extremely popular and successful :yes:.

[libgrrl]

If you watch the smaller dogs run agility, frequently the shelties are the ones barking the whole way around the course.

[Bells]

I loved my sheltie. I plan to get another one soon. The darling I picked up from the pound was just so good and smart. I miss her. For 6 months she never made a sound. And was never much of a barker and if she did start barking, one no bark and she would stop. Best dog ever.

[Heinz_57]

[QUOTE=wendy;6006450]
they bark. A lot. At everything. Also heard they tend not to do very well with smaller children, finding them frightening. [/QUOTE]

Maybe ours was unique, but she rarely barked and loved (or just plain ignored) little kids. I wasn’t more than five or six when we got her, either - she died a few years ago, 15-16 years old.

I have known a few others that were yappy, but (IMO) as with most dogs it seems more related to how they are raised and personality than breed.

My border collie is much more bark-y, I do have to remind him every so often that he CAN be excited without barking.

[Laurierace]

Make you a deal! Pick one out from here and I will install all the horse related bells and whistles for you. Then you can make arrangements to pick him or her up from me when I am done in a couple weeks or so.

http://www.sscgb.org/Res_Base.html

[Roxyllsk]

Laurierace, I will have to contact you when I’m ready for another ! (I am at my max of 2 right now … )

[threedogpack]

Ack. Shelties are one dog I have no desire to own. The ones I’ve known personally are all .very. barky and many seem to be shy, fearful dogs. Too much coat to take care of as well.

[Beau_s_mom]

Love them!

Grew up w/ them and now our MFH has 3 house shelties. They are so funny…like any breed there are individuals.
Some are more vocal than others, some are more extroverted than others. In general they are great w/ kids and other pets. Highly recommend these little ‘big’ dogs.

[Laurierace]

My sheltie is pretty barky and is timid and even more timid around kids. He is very well trained though and that gets him through pretty much any situation. If he gets overwhelmed by too many kids he retreats next to an adult. If he is barking too much I tell him no and he stops. Socialization is the key, I have taken him everywhere with me since the day we adopted him. He goes into every store that allows him in and greets the people who make contact with him. I agree that they aren’t easy and they aren’t for everyone but they are definitely worth the effort to me.

[Casey09]

I would do a little research in health. I’ve known several people who have moved away from the breed in recent years because of health issues.
Besides that, they do tend to be barkers. Many seem to have weak nerves and have a fearful temperament. I’ve read that they are not great in busy homes with a lot of people going in and out.

[Bluey]

We had two, very nice breed.
Shelties are the poster dog for over the top barkers, although some in our dog club have a very few that don’t really bark much.

Shelties are very nice, soft dogs and many are shy to the point that, if something scares them, they will lose their head and run off scared and hide.

Shelties don’t all come in the same size, some are almost as large as rough collies and some small as pomeranians, not that many are right on the standard for size.

Ours were competitive obedience dogs and they are a snap to train, live on your word, practically train themselves.
One of our shelties was the only dog from several I have had and shown that I didn’t trust off lead, because if someone may have knocked a chair down, she would have run off and got lost.
She came from a puppy mill, I would say it is very important, maybe more than with other breeds, to get a sheltie from a good breeder, if you want one close to what you are seeing in the pictures.

Shelties are beautiful dogs and ours were not that hard to keep clean and brushed and shed mostly twice a year, blowing coat, little the rest of the time.

Ours were farm dogs and the only dogs we had that were flea magnets.
We got were we would not let them get close to any rabbit areas, or we had to dip them right away, they came back covered in fleas.
With today’s flea products, that may not be a problem so much.

I am not sure they are very good with kids, as they are so soft and jumpy if someone is loud and kids just tend to be loud at times.
Then, some of those in our dog club love kids and are very good with them in our school demonstrations and “reading with Rover” library work with kids.
Don’t know how much is training or just excellent temperament.

I found best way to curb the barking some is to acknowledge the dog when it barks and then distract it.
They learn when it is appropriate to bark and then quit barking.
Just to get after them to stop barking, dogs don’t think like that, many times see the human as participating and getting excited, see the talk as barking along and so bark more enthusiastically.

I would look for a very good breeder, or a rescue you can tell it is the temperament you want.
Ask your vet, he may know some breeders around your area and who is good.
When I asked years ago, after we lost our last one, the vet said he was seeing many poorly bred shelties, didn’t know anyone breeding good ones right then.

As for pretty, they are that, in spades.