Shetland Sheepdog

FCI:

Shetland Sheepdog  -Group I. - Sheepdogs and Cattle Dogs, Section 1 – Sheepdogs. Recognized in the year 1914.

General Appearance:

The Shetland Sheepdog is a sweet, intelligent and perceptive, obedient and docile, sympathetic, nimble, very skilful and quick. It is always neat and gentle, quite strong and vigilant, reasonably lively and loyal to owner, whom it loves.

Training/Behaviour:

The education and training do not make any trouble progressing if the owner is kindly consistent. It is also suitable for beginners, but it reacts badly to a person nervous, choleric foundation, quickly changing views and demands, prone to gross negotiations.

It loves all family members of the owner, it is fully committed, and if it can live together, it is sociable, playful and cheerful. To the strangers it is suspicious (but never nervous or aggressive), and it is therefore it is important early socialization, that is of considerable importance for cohabitation with children who need to be instructed how to deal with respect to its perceptiveness and sensitivity. It's loud and watchful guard that does not know what fear is.

It has sheepdog genes. When  it is on a walk with the family, where everyone is together, it tends to those who depart or delay after dog tries to  return them back  as soon as possible  into the group. It must also not be permanently "suspended" in an outdoor pen, it suffers

It requires addition to sufficient movement also an opportunity to mental activity, and therefore its training and competitions in agility or obedience  there are the most suitable job, with proper management practices very happy and helpfully. Successfully it is doing well in competitions in dog dancing.

Body:

It is a small, long-haired and beautiful at first look originally a working dog without the slightest signs of clumsiness and coarseness. Body proportions are balanced. Under ideal height at the withers is considered, male is 37 cm for female is 35.5 cm.

The head must be noble. it consists of an elongated blunt ending lap. Skull above should be flat, moderately wide between ears, with no prominence of occipital bone. Cheeks flat and seamlessly merge into the muzzle, stop not too steep, but distinct. The nose should be black as well as the lips, and eyelids.

Jaws strong, symmetrical, shapely, firm. The bottom should be well developed, it cannot be weak. Lips are tightly fitting to the jaws and teeth. The teeth must be healthy with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, dentition is complete and regular.

The eyes should be of medium size, slanting, almond shaped, dark brown in colour except blue merle coloured individuals, who may be one or both eyes blue or blue flecked.

The earlobes are small, moderately broad at the base, set fairly close together, high on the head. The rest can be folded backwards, in the heat of passion are turned forward, semi-erect with tips banked forward.

The neck should be muscular neck in nicely arched, of sufficient length, the spine must be straight and shoulders are slightly arched. Croup should be slightly sloping.

The tail is deep, and his last vertebra reaching at least to hock. It is heavily furred, slightly curved upward. For movements can be carried higher, but never above the topline of the body. In any case, there should be no distortion.

The forelegs are sloping shoulder blade, loose limbs are straight and muscular but lean, strong bones, the wrist should be firm, but flexible. The chest should be deep, reaching the elbow. Ribs should be well sprung. Feet should be oval in shape, with full pads, toes arched, and tight.

The hindquarters should have a broad and muscular thighs, knees are markedly angulated, hocks properly shaped and bent low over the base, fetlocks to be parallel, strong bone. The movement is elastic, smooth and graceful and pointing forward.

Coat consists of an outer coat that is long, thick, straight, and the undercoat, which must be soft, smooth, smooth it is called- collar, it  should be very rich as well as "jabot" front chest and called. Feathering is on the backs of the forelegs. Possible colour is sable, tricolour, blue merle, black and white or black and tan. Sable can be clean, from pale gold to deep mahogany hue or shading, which should be very filling. Tricolour colour should be jet black with a deep tan and white markings, blue merle colour should be pure silvery blue with black splashed and marbled. Rich tan markings are desirable, but their absence is not penalized. White markings on all colours except black and tan may form on the head a bald in the neck called-shawl, front chest bib, and it may even be on the legs and tail tip. Coat requires regular care.

Any faults from the standard requirements must be considered as defects and precisely evaluated by the degree of seriousness with regard to health and well-being. Adverse deviation is more than 2.5 cm from the standard height at the withers, incidentally, knitting limbs, Cradle or stiff gait, stilted movement, tap dancing, short hair, sable or gray colour and big black markings. Slate or rusty tinge top coat and undercoat or white plates on the body.