Shetland Sheepdog History

This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, March 2014 issue.

Shetland Sheepdog History

The Shetland Sheepdog is not an ancient breed. It was developed in the Shetland and Orkney Islands of the coast of Scotland in a relatively short period of time.

Because Shetland is a windswept, treeless, rocky place, it was hard to make a living there. Much of the livestock, such as the sheep and ponies, were somewhat miniaturized, possibly due to the poor living conditions at the time.

The Shetland Sheep, a breed known for their fine wool, were more agile and goat-like than most larger sheep. Crofters used dogs to help them work with these sheep.

The job of the dogs was to help drive the sheep into stone holding areas to be dipped and to have their wool removed. Another job was to protect lambs from birds of prey and also to protect the crofters’ meager gardens planted close to houses from marauding sheep.

In the short summers, sheep might be ferried out to an uninhabited island along with a dog or two. The dogs kept eagles and other birds of prey away. They were surefooted and could run over the rocky landscape. They also barked a lot to scare away birds and make it possible for the crofter to locate them.

The original dogs doing this work most likely came from Scandinavia and were possibly spitz-like. Early writings reference Icelandic dogs and Yakki dogs as part of the mix.

Shetlanders later brought over working Collies when there were larger herds of sheep to tend. But the dogs that worked were generally small, some as small as 10 inches.

When holidaymakers began visiting the Islands from England with their pets, a smart farmer saw a method to increase his income by labeling the dogs as a rare breed indigenous to the Islands to promote and sell them to visitors.

Some of the local dogs were crossed with Pomeranians early in the 20th century, and an attractive small dog that could still work was promoted as the Shetland Collie.

The first book on the breed, written by Beryl Tynne in 1916, containing the thoughts of some of the earliest breeders, indicates the dogs were originally denounced by Collie fanciers as having little resemblance to each other or to Collies.

She states that the working Collie, Pomeranian, and even King Charles Spaniel all had a hand in making the breed. In her book, there is a photo of a dog that looks very much like a Papillon as well.

James Loggie (or Logie), a clever dog dealer and breeder on Shetland, formed the Shetland Collie Club in 1908 to promote the “new” breed. He bred a number of breeds, including “Logie toys,” and developed a following for what was thought to be the indigenous island dogs (with a few additives).

He ran into some trouble with local official bodies and emigrated to Australia shortly after that, leaving the interest in the breed to Charlie Tompson in Scotland.

Tompson established a club in Scotland in 1909 and took over the promotion of the breed. Then in 1914, fanciers in England started the English Shetland Sheepdog Club.

The breed name changed as Collie fanciers objected to the Shetland dogs, whose appearance was not close to the Collie, being called “Collies” of any kind.

In England, the desire to bring the Shetland Sheepdog into a type resembling a Collie in miniature was strong indeed.

In fact, numerous recorded and unrecorded crosses were made with full Collies, and type evolved quickly and remarkably. The recorded Collie crosses in English records were an issue in terms of establishing the breed in the U.S.

In fact, then ASSA Secretary Catherine Coleman Moore traveled to England to get a change whereby export pedigrees would remove notation of which dogs in the pedigrees were Collies so the AKC would accept the pedigrees into the stud book.

Unrecorded Collie crosses also continued in the U.S. J. Nate Levine (Page’s Hill) housed a number of red Arken Collies, and suddenly there were red Page’s Hill Shelties with more Collie type and with size issues.

Nate as much as admitted things were done but never specifically would say where, and those secrets went to the grave with him.

American fanciers with the means to purchase the best, such as Mrs. William Dreer (Anahassitt), William Gallagher (Page’s Hill before Nate), and others brought many dogs over from England in the 1920s and 1930s, many of which had a heavy preponderance of Collie blood.

As a result, the size of pups in litters was all over, from very small ones throwing back to the original island dogs and Pomeranians to very large ones throwing to the Collies.

Mary Van Wagenen of Sea Isle, one of the “mothers” of the breed in the U.S., estimated that Shelties in the U.S. have about 50% Collie blood.

Shelties in the UK tend to be significantly smaller and lighter overall than those in the U.S. This may relate to the fact that regular large-scale importations from the UK trailed off to negligible in the 1950s, and the exchange of blood between the two countries has been rare since.

The American standard also altered the size provisions based on the major issues breeders had with size variations in litters. Instead of using an ideal size of 14 ½ inches, the club opted for a wide size range.

In the UK, the ideal size was listed as a goal. As a result, many modern-day U.S. Shelties hover close to the 16-inch maximum while many English dogs are closer to the UK listed ideal.

Those interested in a more detailed history may wish to refer to my book, The Shetland Sheepdog in America, which includes a chapter on the Collie crosses.