Is a Shelty a good dog?

Question

My mom finally said she would get us a dog, and she said that a Shelty would be good for us, but are they easy to house break and are they loyal and friendly?

Answer 1

Yes, they are SUPPOSED to be all that. Problem is crappy breeders who do not make any effort to breed to the standard. They are a very good breed, and I suggest you read this thread for my answer to 5 reasons NOT to own a breed. I will add the link in a few hours, unless some one else can provide it since I am just on my way otut he door. Here is a link to help you choose a reputable breeder: http://www.qualitydogs.com/choosingbreeder.asp
It is the most important thing you can do to ensure you get a mentallly and physically healthy sheltie. The four most important tests that should be performed on breeding parents are OFA for hips, CERF for eyes, Vetgen for VonWillebrand's, and Michigan thyroi9d testing. If the breeder doesn't know this, or doesn't do the testing, RUN AWAY!

Also go to www.assa.org to learn about how a properly bred sheltie should look and behave. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions of if I can help. Good luck!


ADDED: THANK YOU CARRIE LAB & KRISTIN B!!!! < just wanted to be sure you saw that! ;o)

Answer 2

Shelties (Shetland Sheepdogs) are marvelous, intelligent, fun, loyal, athletic, easy to train dogs...in general, and if you put time and effort into them, as with any dog. Generally they are sensitive and take little correction, and "want to do" for their person.

Of course, there are always exceptions.As with any dog, your job is to research and find a good, REPUTABLE breeder of conformation Shelties. Ideally, the litter should be champion sired, or mother a champion...and as Shelties are such intelligent dogs they are common in the obedience and agility competitions....so some titles for those are a big plus in the pedigree...proving intelligence and trainability. Parents should have been checked for hips and eyes. Breeder should include a health guarantee.....and more info and answers than you could think of asking! ;-)

Go to the breeders home and look at litter and other dogs...DO NOT BUY SIGHT UNSEEN!!!!!!

When choosing the pup......you pick the bright, friendly, responsive puppy. The one that when you move a toy on the ground, it looks at it, then approaches and plays. When you pick it up, it does not show fear nor does it frantically struggle to get out of your arms. Do NOT pick the quiet little one that hides in a corner....nor the wild ones that jump up and down barking and barking.

Shelties make great family dogs...despite what others have said. They are apt to bond more closely with one person, but ours have liked, played with, and "minded" the entire family.

You WILL have to be sure to socialize the puppy....get it out and about in the world, used to going places, seeing new things, meeting people outside and inside your home.

They are active...so lots of physical play and exercise. And they are smart....so a lot of fun tricks, or obedience or agility! I always encourage people to take their pups to training classes...good quality time spent with the pup, good socialization, and the trainers teach you to train your dog!

Yes, Shelties are herding dogs......but ours have never nipped our heels, again, contrary to what some have said. Some can and do demonstrate some herding behavior, circling a bit......but it is usually quite mild.

One of the plus sides to Shelties is their tendency to be sensitive, often a "correction" is simply a quiet "uh uh", and they stop. On the flip side, this sensitivity can be extreme and some can be very, very shy and spooky...particularly if they are not socialized.

Grooming...not that bad, despite what you would think. Once a week is good....paying special attention to the fine hair behind their ears. I have always looked at the time grooming as special, quiet time to spend with the dog.....they come to enjoy the brushing and "massaging".

Their worst downside is that some certainly can be barky.

I got my 1st Sheltie in High School and trained and competed in obedience. Gradually, got interested in conformation and raised and showed them for about 25 years. During this time I married, had two children. I gave my daughter her own Sheltie puppy when she was only 6 years old. She raised, groomed, fed and trained the puppy and started showing it in obedience and agility when she (my daughter) was 10 years old.

We have been training agility students and competing in agility for the past 12 years.

Answer 3

As a owner of a wonderful SHELTIE... Do some more reserch. Make sure you get you sheltie from a good conformation breeder, if you get it from a puppy mill or backyard breeder they tend to have A LOT of behavior and health problems. If you want a family dog a sheltie is not for you. They bond to one person, they are not social when meeting new people, they are a hearding breed that has A LOT of energy, so they need a job, they bark a lot, and they require a lot of grooming. Besides that there wonderful dogs and love to work.

Answer 4

Shelties are great dogs, of medium size. Like any dog, they have their good and their bad.

On the plus side, they are fairly compact, yet sturdy. If from good breeding, they are typically easy to train, both for house manners and housebreaking as well as obedience work. They are great companions, who love to sit on your lap. They are also excellent watchdogs, who are friendly to everyone as long as the person is not a threat to their owners or property.

On the negative side, they are herding dogs, and have a tendency to like everything and everyone in neat circles. They do have a tendency to bark, so for apartment or close quarters to neighbors may not be a good fit. They also have a large fluffy coat, and shedding hair might be a problem for some folks.

However, properly trained and socialized as puppies, they are great family dogs.

Answer 5

I lived with one that was a sweetheart.. but when my roomate at the time got him it was already an adult.. so, don't know about training.. He was VERY nice.. and stayed with us on or off leash.. the ONLY problem I noticed was that this sheltie that grew up with children in the house was not very good with them as a senior dog.. when they start hearing/seeing less they get a bit nippy if scared.. She knew the previous owner (who had him the other 12 years) and he was apparently never a problem before that..

Answer 6

I hope Jennifer T sees this and answers... she is the sheltie guru around here.

I have heard they are good family dogs. I do know that they are smart though and have a good amount of energy. They excell in agility if you are interested in that.

ADDED: This is the link Jennifer T was talking about:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AkFNJpXypADZVk0P_WgklnjL7BR.;_ylv=3?qid=20070918160529AAeHJFR&show=7&cp=2&tp=3&tnu=86#all-answers

Scroll down to read Jennifer T's answer about Shelties.

Answer 7

All the Shelties I know are high strung and yappy. They also shed a ton. I imagine they are loyal. They are not friendly. Most are very shy and nervous.

Answer 8

Here is the thread Jennifer T was speaking about:


http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Ah4lnJHIOlnr8IEn7mp_IVDL7BR.;_ylv=3?qid=20070918160529AAeHJFR&show=7&cp=2&tp=3&tnu=86#all-answers

She's on page 2, about 6th down!

Good luck!

Answer 9

From what I have learned from Jennifer T they are wonderful little dogs. They are extremely smart and a real peoples dogs. They do need grooming because of their coats but aside from that their Great!

I'll bring this to Jenn's attention and perhaps she will also add her thought for you ok!

Add: ok their not little per-say, but from what I'm used to they are lol.

Answer 10

shelties are very smart easy to train dogs put they are high energy need lots of your time or they get board and destructive. They also require lots of brushing