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The Shetland Sheepdog originated on the Shetland Islands. This islands lie of the northeast coast of Scotland, they are rugged and sparsely vegetated. The Islands are famous for their miniature livestock including- cattle, sheep, ponies, and sheepdogs. Norwegians once occupied the islands and it is believed that the Sheltie might descend from dogs of the Spitz family similar to the Norwegain Buhund or from the "yakki". The "Yakki" was brought to the islands by whaling fleets from Iceland. An interesting fact is that the Sheltie was once called a "Toonie" dog. This name is derived from the Norwegian word tun, which means farm. There for the "Toonie" was a farm dog. The sheltie's duties where to tend small flocks of sheep and to keep the flock from wandering into the farmers garden. They where also a family pet and believed to have been the family babysitter. In the 1800s that the Sheltie was a nondescript lot. Fishermen took some of them to the main land and they quickly attracted the interest of dog enthusiasts who then crossbred them to various toy breeds. Then later on to stamp a type the sheltie was crossed with small collies. A new colour was introduced to the sheltie as a result of these crosses, the blue merle. In 1906 the Sheltie made it debut at the Crufts' show in London under the name Shetland Collie. This drew strong objections from the Collie breeders and as a result the name was revised to the Shetland Sheepdog.The Sheltie was give official recognition by The Kennel Club (England) in 1909 but it was not until 1930 that it was registered in Canada with the CKC. The original British standerard call for a much smaller dog then the Canadian or American Standard's do. |
