Fun-Filled Facts

  • The Shetland Sheepdog, as its name implies, is essentially a working Collie in miniature.
  • The Sheltie was officially recognized by the English Kennel Club in 1909 but did not receive separate classification as the Sheltie (apart from Collie) until 1914.
  • The Sheltie is one of the most successful obedience breeds.
  • The first Sheltie registered by the AKC (1911) was “Lord Scott”, who was imported from Shetland by John G. Sherman, Jr. of New York.
  • The American Shetland Sheepdog Association, parent club of the breed, was organized at the Westminster Kennel Club in 1929, and held its first specialty show in 1933.

Shetland Sheepdog History
The Shetland Sheepdog, as its name implies, is a working Collie in miniature. There is little doubt that the small working Collie, from which came the modern show Collie evolving on larger lines, was likewise the progenitor of the Shetland Sheepdog evolving on smaller ones. It was assisted in the process by the environment of the Islands, which produced diminutiveness in all its stock, and by crosses with other breeds residing in, if not indigenous to, the Islands.

As the Islands were isolated from the trend of travel, the little dogs were a long time coming to the ken of dog-loving folk. Thus the breed did not take its place on the show bench until well along in the present century. The year 1909 marked the initial recognition of the Sheltie by the English Kennel Club. Not until 1914 did the breed obtain separate classification as Shetland Sheepdogs, and not Shetland Collies, because of pressure brought to bear by the Collie breeders. The first Challenge Certificate was awarded to the breed in 1915, after which World War I put a stop to all progress for the next few years.

The first Shetland Sheepdog registered by the American Kennel Club (1911) was “Lord Scott” who was imported from Shetland by John G. Sherman, Jr. of New York. The American Shetland Sheepdog Association, parent club of the breed, was organized at the Westminster Kennel Club show in 1929, and held its first specialty show in 1933.