Hey Steve!
And Summer you probably dont no it but all the information you have put on this board about shelties has really helped me to learn alot about the breed and it just makes me want one more,
hehe Aww, I'm glad I could help you out a bit!
Sheltie Ear gluing is ESSENTIAL for a future show puppy. BUT you have to glue them correctly, or you'll mess up the ear structure for later on.
SO.. get a VERY knowledgable breeder in this. Also, after the initial gluing.. the ears do come loose and need continual touch ups.
I have a video of "how to glue a shelties ears" that I made for cowgirl that I posted. I'll find the link and post in here for you.
Its just a rough idea of how you should do it. Riots rolling around in the background distracting Jada lol And I couldn't film the actual "gluing" process only the before and after with explinations inbetween lol I was the only one doing the videoing.. ohh not to mention there are spelling mistakes in it hahaha
http://youtube.com/watch?v=H8nQuciBSYg
Anyways, about the heigh issues. The breeders can take an "educated guess" on what the dogs finishing height might be from measurements when they are a certain age.
Believe it or not.. Crosbie wasn't supposed to go overstandard. Hes now 1.5" above standard. lol Thats a BIG sheltie
You have to look at the Shelties mom and dad for personality as well. Becarful not to get a puppy from a timid or shy mother. Shelties are sometimes known to be fairly timid if not properly socilized as a young puppy.
I think you are in the States.. this is taken straight off of the AKC website for size standards for Shelties.
Size, Proportion, Substance
The Shetland Sheepdog should stand between 13 and 16 inches at the shoulder. Note: Height is determined by a line perpendicular to the ground from the top of the shoulder blades, the dog standing naturally, with forelegs parallel to line of measurement.
Disqualifications-- Heights below or above the desired size range are to be disqualified from the show ring.
Showing Shelties is touch competition over here. At Riots last show there were around 12 Shelties entered. There were only 5 Belgians entered. The good thing is that if you get a nice Sheltie with good structure and movement, you will gain points quickly. If you have a sheltie that has one flaw such as a bad looking stop(part on their head) and your against other shelties that have minimal flaws, it will be extremely hard to rank in points towards their CH title.
Our breeders think that Jada will achieve her CH title, but because she is a rather "plain" Sheltie with no fancy markings about her and a foxy face it might be harder for her, just meaning it will take longer.
Although, if you get a nice looking Sheltie, you can kick butt in the show ring!
Riot has been beat out by a Sheltie twice in group placings! lol Judges LOVE Shelties lmao
AKC standards
If Crosby was smaller, he would have placed VERY well.
Another thing if you want to show your Sheltie.. hook up with a professional handler/groomer for a Sheltie. It takes HOURS to properly prep a Sheltie for the show ring! lol SOO much bodifyer in that mane of theirs lol
There is also specific ways to trim their fur as well to either hide or accent certain faults or advantages.
, agility, obediance, mainly and maybe tracking,
Shelties do VERY well at agility, as well as obedience. Obedience takes consistancy along with quantity. For a properly trained obedience Sheltie it takes practicing each day on certain things for your CD, CDX or UD. Even if it is only 5 minutes.. just always finish on a good note
With Shelties.. comes consistant BARKING! lol If you can train your Sheltie to quite "talking back to you" during Agility, this will aid you more. The more they bark, they more they dont really have their full attention on you. Just something to remember.
As for tracking, i'm sure they could do it. Its just something that they weren't bred for and I think it will be highly unlikely(yet could be possible) to find a kennel that has AN, CD,CH AND Tracking titles. I'm sure they are out there though.
Mostly kennels concentrade on Obedience and Conformation with the occational Agility.
Any other questions that I missed?
OHHH forgot to add as well. Have you decided on what colour of Sheltie you'd like? There are many acceptable colours to choose from.
Here is from the AKC
Color
Black(tri), blue merle, and sable (ranging from golden through mahogany); marked with varying amounts of white and/or tan.
Faults-- Rustiness in a black or a blue coat. Washed-out or degenerate colors, such as pale sable and faded blue. Self-color in the case of blue merle, that is, without any merling or mottling and generally appearing as a faded or dilute tri-color. Conspicuous white body spots. Specimens with more than 50 percent white shall be so severely penalized as to effectively eliminate them from competition. Disqualification-- Brindle.
For Sables, the different shades of the tan colour, depend on what colour "factored" them out. For example. Jada and Crosbie are from a "tri-factored Sable bitch). Meaning, their grandmother was a tri, but their mother was a sable. This is why you see such a dark colouring on Crosbie and jada when you see them in pics. They have "almost black" streaks in places. A pure sable won't have such a dark overlay on them.
Blues are also allowed to have blue eyes.
