Living With The Sheltie Personality
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When it comes to sheltie personality, who the world sees vs. who the owner sees, can be quite disparate.
They have a reputation for shyness that disappears once a sheltie begins to trust.
And while some people consider them too soft in temperament, I beg to differ. They may be sensitive, but the Shetland Sheepdog personality is basically a pretty hardy breed.
But just because I and many others feel they are the best breed on earth, the Shetland Sheepdog may not be for you.
You may or may not appreciate their joyful quirkiness, energy level, or the grooming required.
Do your research on different breeds to see what would be a good fit. Looking for a small breed but not sure what? Check out About Small Dogs website.
They give information on breeds I am not familiar.
Have A Great Story About Your Sheltie?
Tell us what makes YOUR Sheltie a special one-of-a-kind companion. Share your photos too!
What Other Visitors Have Shared
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
RIP Ollie 
The picture that you clicked on to reach this page was a puppy picture of Ollie, my beloved little Sheltie who passed away this summer.
He was so …
I Didn't Know He Was A Blue Merle
When I got my 4 y.o. Sheltie from a friend who insisted I needed a dog, I knew he had strange spots and that he threw merle puppies, but I thought he just …
RIP Ellie Mae
Our blue merle Ellie Mae just passed away of lung cancer. She was our diamond. The best dog ever. Loyal, smart, beautiful. Love Shelties.
Shelby My Savior
This is Shelby my 12-year-old female Sheltie. I adopted her when she was only 8 weeks old. About 2 months after I adopted Shelby, I was diagnosed with …
Stinker pants
I was the 4th owner of this adorable bi-black sheltie by the time he was 6 months old. He was such a trouble maker nobody kept him very long. His name …
Bazels First Day Home
i just got an 11 week old male sheltie Friday we named Bazel. As soon as we got home from the pet store, he was darting everywhere and running around things. …
My Cash
When he was a very young pup, while watching a John Wayne movie for his first time, when he heard Wayne's voice he stared at the set and then crawled up …
I Love My Sheltie. He is our "Fur Kid"."
Tobi was my Christmas present from my husband in 2000. We had not had a house pet for about 10 years, so it was quite the surprise to me when he told me …
Koti is fan of football Not rated yet
Unbelievably, she watches television especially when her team is playing. Her favorite sports figure is Andrew Lucke of the Colts. She instantly recognizes …
Brody Not rated yet
We got Brody at 9 weeks, a day after our female sheltie, Kelsey had to be put down at 10 because of cancer, My wife was devastated.
I always keep track …
Ellie and Poohbear Not rated yet
We brought our 3rd and 4th Shelties home after our 2 previous rescued Shelties passed away. They were all the loves of our hearts and our hearts were broken …
How Does The Sheltie Personality Compare To Other Breeds?
I have had a few different breeds over the years, and they all have so much to offer. But in matters of love, there are just some things that touch your heart more than others.
I have had a Golden Retriever. God, he was a beauty. Came from a very reputable breeder who was my mentor in Obedience Competition training. The Golden was smart and loving and happy.
Why didn’t I stay with Golden Retrievers as a breed? He loved everyone as much as me. He’d sell me for a cookie. We would take hikes in the parks and if he met someone, canine or human, he’d just as soon leave with them as stay with me.
Sorry, if I’m going to feed you, bath and groom you, train you, love you, watch over you… could you at least make me your number one person??
Seeing YOU as the most important person is part of the Sheltie Personality. I'm unashamed to say I love being the moon and stars to them.
Mini Aussies. Had one of them. She was smart and athletic and beautiful.
She was also the stubbornest bitch I ever met. Headstrong didn’t begin to describe it. Her breeder said she used to call her “Martha Stewart” when she was a pup. I should have known.
Shelties on the other hand WANT to please me. It's hard-wired into them. Even when they misbehave it's pretty mild and short lived compared to other breeds.
English Shepherds. Wow! Smart, biddable, great farm guardian when I lived in Oregon. The girls were an absolute love. The bitch I had would play nanny to my Shetland Sheepdog puppies.
She also used to try to kill chickens as a pup, but then one day, it just clicked and without any training (I swear!) she learned that when the chickens were out of their appropriate chicken field, they needed to be brought back.
She learned to herd chickens. You had to see it to believe it. Saved me hours of chasing the hens!
But the boys that I had contact with were all into fighting other males. Not something I wanted to see if it was a trait across the entire breed.
The male Shelties are just as sweet and easy going in a pack as the girls. I have 4 intact males right now in the house and they all get along wonderfully well.
So Give Me A Shetland Sheepdog
In addition to what I consider a beautiful appearance and happy outlook on life, there are so many pluses and so few minuses in living with them. The Sheltie personality complemented mine so well.