Sherwood Shelties - Registered breeder of Shetland Sheepdogs

New Puppies have arrived!!

Here is picture of one of our new little Shelties.
Click here to take a look at some more pictures of this litter.

Contact us if you wish to pre-book a pup.

First and foremost, Sherwood Shelties is a member of the Canadian Kennel Club under the Kennel Registration name of Ragdale Boone. We are located in Sherwood Park, Alberta, only a few minutes east of Edmonton. Our promise is to ensure the quality and betterment of the breed. The Shetland Sheepdog is an outstanding companion dog and is intensely loyal, with a pleasant temperament. It is lively, intelligent, trainable, and willing to please and obey. Shelties are loving, loyal, and affectionate with their family, but are naturally aloof with strangers and might not appreciate being petted by someone they do not know; for this reason Shelties must be socialized extensively. Most Shelties, if encouraged, will warm up to strangers if given time. Some can be quite reserved and some have varying degrees of shyness.

Our Sherwood Shelties Family

Here is a photo of our Sherwood Shelties family.
Click here to take a close look.

Although they are excellent family pets, Shelties do especially well with children if they are raised with them from an early age; however, their small size makes it easy for a child to accidentally injure them, so supervision is necessary. The herding instinct is still strong in many Shelties. They love to chase things, including squirrels, ducks, and children. When people are milling around the yard, Shelties sometimes try to "herd" the people into a group by running around, barking, and nipping at heels. This tendency appears most when children run around the yard in a group. Shelties love to run in wide-open areas. The space should be safe and they should not get too far away. Shelties usually love to play. They do best with a sensitive, yet firm, owner. The Sheltie is, above all, an intelligent herder and likes to be kept busy, although their activity level usually coincides with their owner's level. Shelties also are very smart, making them highly trainable. Shelties have a reputation as vocal dogs, but that might be undeserved. Ill-bred dogs often display a terrier-like personality--hyper and yappy, always on the go--but can just as easily be overly timid and may become a fear-biter. The intelligent Sheltie can be trained to be an excellent watch dog, and not yappy, giving two or three barks to alert its owner to a person at the door. Unlike some dog breeds, males and females make equally good pets. The main difference is that males tend to have more impressive coats, and unspayed females will 'blow' coat after every heat cycle. Males should appear masculine, females feminine.

Sizing
The size of a sheltie (at the withers) can range from being undersize (under 13 inches) to being oversize (over 16 inches.) The average height of a sheltie is 14-15 inches.

Sheltie Coats and Colors
Shelties have a double coat consisting of long guard hairs covering a fluffy insulative undercoat. Several coat colors exist. There are three main acceptable show colors, sable (ranging from golden through mahogany), tricolor (black, white, and tan) and blue merle (grey, white, black, and tan). Bi-Blues (grey, black, and some white) and bi-blacks (white and black) are less common but still acceptable. The best-known color is the sable, which is dominant over other colors. Shaded, or mahogany, sables can sometimes be mistaken for tricolored Shelties due to the large amount of dark shading on their coats. Another acceptable color in the show ring, but much less seen, is the sable merle, which can often be hard to distinguish from regular sables after puppyhood. Double merles, the product of breeding two merle Shelties together, can be bred but have a higher incidence of deafness or blindness than the other coat colors. There are few additional coat colors that are quite rare because they are unacceptable in the breed ring, such as color-headed white (majority of fur white, with the head 'normally' marked). There have been reports of a brindle Sheltie but many Sheltie enthusiasts agree that a cross sometime in the ancestry of that specific Sheltie could have produced a brindle coat.

Grooming
Shelties have a double coat. The topcoat consists of long, straight, water-repellent hair, which provides some protection from cold and the elements. The undercoat is short, furry, and very dense in order to help keep the dog warm. The Sheltie is usually a clean dog and should only need to be brushed once or twice a week (it is helpful to spray-mist with water when brushing). Mats can be commonly found behind the ears, under the elbow on each front leg, and in the fluffy fur on the hind legs (the "skirts"). Although its coat might appear to be a time-consuming task, a once-weekly, but thorough, brushing is all that is needed, though more frequent groomings will contribute to a beautiful and tidy coat. Shelties 'blow' coat usually twice a year, often at spring and fall, and should be groomed more often at those times. A good brushing with an undercoat rake, which removes the dead and loose hair from its coat daily should reduce the amount of hair that is shed. It is easiest to teach a dog to tolerate, or even enjoy, grooming if they are shown that it is a pleasurable thing from a young age. Breeders usually teach the dogs to lie on their side, be brushed, and then flip over to the other side. Toenails and hair between the pads need to be trimmed every couple of weeks. Show dogs may require more frequent brushing to keep their coats in top condition. Regular brushing encourages undercoat growth, distributes healthful oils produced by the skin, and prevents sores known as "hotspots" which can occur when dead undercoat is allowed to accumulate close to the skin. Most Shelties learn to love the attention that grooming provides, if the routine is started when the dog is still young. Our moms and dad love this activity and usually fight over who gets the pleasure first. This activity in our home is done while we watch some tv. The dogs love it and sometimes, our male will look for the brush when prompted.

Ears
Shelties' ears are required to bend slightly or "tip" at the top to be qualified to show in Canadian Kennel Club (CKC) www.ckc.ca/en shows. The proper earset is to have the top 1/3 of the ear tipped. If a dog's ears are not bent (referred to as prick ears) it is acceptable to help the ears along to the desired position by bracing them into the correct position and leaving them on for several weeks. Wideset ears can also be a problem, often breaking too low down (referred to as 'hound' ears). These are often harder to correct than prick ears, and must be braced early and consistently throughout the first year. It is easiest to train a dog's ears when the dog is a puppy. Beginning at 6 to 8 weeks, the puppy's ears may be taped and glued to help induce a proper earset. There are also veterinary procedures to "fix" improper earsets, although any reputable breeder will not go to those extremes.

What are some problems associated with having a sheltie?

This is a good question to ask yourself if you are interested in getting a sheltie. No breed is right for everyone, and all breeds have strong and weak points. First off, the sheltie is a long-coated breed. While his coat does require less care than some, you should expect to spend a minimum of 1-2 times a week brushing him/her that may take 1/2 hour to an hour depending on how full a coat he/she has. During shedding seasons, you may want to brush him every day to keep the hair-level on the carpets down.

Secondly, the sheltie is a barker. The amount of barking varies with the individual dog and often with the number of dogs. Barking is often learned from other dogs, and a house with a number of shelties is invariably a noisy one. If you are persistent, though, you can often teach your dog to be quiet once they have done their job and sounded the alarm.

Finally, you should expect to spend some time exercising your sheltie. This is a working breed, and while they will adjust to living in apartments, etc. better than larger breeds, they do need to spend time running off that excess sheltie energy every day. This may mean taking a walk, or maybe just throwing a tennis ball in the house. But consider doing obedience, agility, or other dog sports with your sheltie. A sheltie enjoys nothing more than getting to work and spend time with you and you will have a much closer relationship with your dog. All of our puppies raised at Sherwood Shelties are home raised and not kennel raised. They have the freedom to play in open areas in our home to ensure trainability and awareness of their surroundings. House training is also easier for them to ensure that when they leave our home to yours, you will have a house trained pup.

A Purchase Agreement will be completed upon any purchase of our pups for show/working dog or pet. We have raised our male to acquire the skills of agility. He has been such a good student and has mastered many of the agility skills. We have our own little agility course set up in our yard for dry season viewing.

Please visit the following links for viewing
Breeders Information
Canadian Kennel Club
Canadian Shelties

Agility Training
Sherwood Barks Agility & Dog Training

Site Design by John Scott Consulting Inc.