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Breed History
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The development of the Shetland
Sheepdog
By
Barbara Thornley
(Photos from old English books)
Article reproduced with the kind
permission of Barbara Thornley
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Wallace
- the foundation Dog
on Line BB.
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Those
of us who are keen readers of as many books on The Shetland Sheepdog as
we can lay our hands on, must be aware of how the Sheltie has changed
since it was the little dog, working in all weathers on the Islands to
look after the sheep belonging to his Master and the Family. The climate
of the Islands was cold and bleak in the long Scottish winters, so this
dog although small, was strong because he had to withstand all extremes
of weather and intelligent because of the work he must do.
The
early pictures show us a small, fairly long haired dog, with an
almost Border Collie type head and some have been described as 'pommie'
because of their rounded skulls, deep stop and short muzzles.
It is not really known exactly when the Sheltie has it origins, but in
the very early 1800's they were thought to be a type of small working
Collie which had been crossed (mostly by accident!) with the Icelandic
Dog bought from Iceland on the fishing boats visiting the Shetland
Islands. It has also been suggested that there may be some crossing with
the Cavalier King Charles spaniel, but most of this information is
sketchy and not actually proven. |
Chestnut Rainbow - ca 1920
- the Dog
on Line CHE who "named" this Line |
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What
is known, however, is that a Mr. J Loggie, who was one of the first
Sheltie enthusiasts from the islands, took the rather courageous step
of introducing a small show Collie into the breed. This he did to
establish a definite type, up until that time the little dog tended to
appear as a variety of types, sometimes with a head which resembled a
spitz type of dog, with pricked ears, or sometimes with a head of more
rounded appearance, with a round eye to match!
Apparently the actions of Mr. Loggie caused some
concern amongst the Sheltie fanciers of that time, but it has since
been acknowledged that it was probably one of the best things to
happen. Little was known on Mainland Britain
of the Shetland Sheepdog until 1906 when the first Shelties were shown
at Cruft's Dog show.
Two years after that the Shetland
Collie Club was founded in Lerwick, the capital of the Shetland Islands,
then in 1909 the Club asked the Kennel Club for permission to change the
name of the breed to Shetland Sheepdog, but this was refused. The breed
was at this time, rather smaller than the present day - in 1909 the
standard described them as "a Collie in miniature, height to be about
12 inches" and at this time there were two varieties, rough and
smooth. By 1909, the breed was becoming fairly popular both as a pet and a
showdog and several societies were scheduling classes on the Mainland,
although people were quite confused about the different types still to be
seen in the ring.
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1914
was a turning point for the breed with the formation of the English
Shetland Sheepdog Club in January, then in August of the same year the
Kennel Club gave the breed its official recognition as a separate
breed and gave it the name Shetland Sheepdog. The following year
Challenge Certificates were offered and a year later the first breed
champion emerged - Ch Woodvold.
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Ch Woodvold
- the first Champion
in the breed -
born 1913
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Due
to the World War which was raging during these important first years,
little breeding and showing was done and by 1917 the breed was facing
almost extinction. Miss Humphries of the Mountfort prefix, decided
that it was time for another Collie cross as type seemed to be varied
again, so the introduction of a small Collie bitch, Teena who was
mated to a dog called Wallace seemed to set the foundations for the
type which we know today. Miss Humphries made no secret of her Collie
cross and most breeders accepted that in order to establish a definite
type, this was necessary.
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1924 saw the last of the necessary Collie
crosses, this time a bitch, Chestnut Sweet Lady was mated to Chestnut
Rainbow, a tricolour Sheltie and the result was eight puppies. This
was to be one of the most important litters in the breeds modern day
history, as one of the puppies, Chestnut Bud was sold to Jim Saunders
of the Helensdale prefix and Bud was behind many of the famous
Helensdales. Four puppies were sold to Dr. Margaret Todd of the
Clerwood prefix, and the smallest puppy was bought by Mrs. E. Baker of
the Houghton Hill prefix. This dog was the sire of Ch Uam Var of
Houghton Hill, one of the most important sires in those years leading
up to the Second World War.
Mrs. Sangster of the Exford prefix was the
daughter of Mrs. Baker, so the Exfords had the good foundation of the
Houghton Hills on which to build. The Exfords and a few years later,
the Riverhills, were already established before the war, but were to
become probably the most well known kennels of the post war years.
(The article continues below the pictures....)
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Ch
Eltham Park Eureka
born in 1925 |
Ch
Uam Var of Houghton Hill
born in 1927 |
Ch
Specks of Mountfort
born in 1922 |
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Ch
Moneyspinner of Exford
born in 19 31 |
Ch
Riverhill Rufus
born in 193 4 |
Ch
Kinnersley Gold Dust
born in 1934
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Four Houghton Hill
champions owned by Mr E Baker:
Ch Blue Blossom of Houghton Hill (born 1933)
Ch Mazurka of Houghton Hill (born 1935)
Ch Uam Var of Houghton Hill (born 1930)
Ch Peablossom of Houghton Hill (born 1933)
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The
entries of Shelties at shows during the late forties and fifties
steadily increased, with more and more people finding the charms of
the Sheltie hard to resist.
Pictures of the
Riverhills of this period show us the wonderfully balanced heads with
flat skulls together the correct shape and placement of the eyes which
makes the expression that is exclusive to the Sheltie. The Misses
Rogers were very keen horsewomen and so construction and movement was
a very important item on their breeding agenda as they knew the
pitfalls of breeding animals with bad construction.
The Exford
Shelties were also very famous for their excellent construction and
movement. They lived in the New Forest - a large area of natural
forest in the South of England. They had the total freedom of the
forest and used to accompany Mrs. Sangster when she rode her horses
out on their daily exercise, so the Exfords had to be able to keep up
with a galloping horse for many miles.
(The
article continues below the pictures....)
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Ch
Nicky of Aberlour
born in 1938
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Ch
Riverhill Redcoat
born in 1945 |
Ch
Delwood Terence
born in 1942 |
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Ch
Orpheus of Callart
born in 1948 |
Ch
Helensdale Bhan
Champion in 1949 |
Ch
Helensdale Ace
born in 1949 |
The
fifties and early sixties saw a huge increase in the popularity of the
breed, not always a good thing because there is a danger of any breed
becoming commercialised. The influence of the pre war kennels was, by
this time, very important and the newer breeders who were keen to
learn tended to attach themselves to the experienced people.
(The
article continues below the pictures....)
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Ch
Viking of Melvaig
born in 1950 |
Ch
Alasdir of Tintobank
born in 1951 |
Ch
Midas of Shelert
born in 1955 |
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Ch
Riverhill Rogue
born in 1957 |
Above from left:
Ch Laird of Whytelaw born 1951, and
Ch Dilhorne Norseman of Melvaig born 1953.
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Ch Ebony Pride of Glenhill
born in 1956 |
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Ch Trumpeter of Tooneytown
born in 1959 |
Ch Riverhill Ratafia
born in 1959 |
Ch Wattawoodcut
born in 1954 |
In
the show ring during this period of time
(the
fifties and early sixties),
very little importance was paid to temperament - the breed standard
stated that the dog should be "reserved towards strangers" and I think
this was taken literally. I can remember going to shows in the early
sixties and watching some of these really beautiful dogs standing
behind their owners legs while they were being judged, with the owners
hardly noticing. Most of the championship show judges were breed
specialists and were used to this kind of behaviour so paid very
little attention.
 The dog that turned this situation around (in my
opinion) was Ch Antoc Sealodge Spotlight
(photo).
A most beautiful Sheltie to look at in profile, he had a lovely shape
with a super neck and topline, well-balanced head with the neatest of
ears which he never stopped using. He hadn't got the best front
angulation in the world, but he was of outstanding quality and correct
breed type. He was also a magnificent showman, totally in tune with
his handler, and it was very obvious that he really enjoyed being a
show off!! He took the eye of several all breeds judges, which
previously a Sheltie had been unable to do (with the exception of Ch
Helensdale Ace).
This then made the newer breeders sit up and take
notice, realising that not only did they have to aim to produce
Shelties of the right size, with correct heads and construction but
they must also do something to improve the temperament. It was quite
an uphill struggle. So many of the larger kennels kept Shelties in
vast numbers which meant they were unable to give the dogs the
individual attention that they required to improve their temperaments.
As the larger kennels also had the stud dogs which were influencing
the breed at that time, it was difficult to plan a breeding programme
when type, quality and now temperament was the consideration.
Sadly Spotlight who was mainly Riverhill bred,
was discovered to be infertile after siring just a few litters - his
breeding and outstanding temperament would have been invaluable to
many people, but it was not to be.
(The article continues below the pictures....)
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Four grandchildren of
Riverhill Rare Gold.
From left: Ch Riverhill Richman (born 1967)
Ch Riverhill Rather Dark (born 1963)
Ch Riverhill Raider (born 1963)
Ch Riverhill Rather Nice (born 1962)
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Ch Special Edition of Shelert
born in 1965 |
Ch Jefsfire Freelancer
born in 1968 |
Ch Strict
Tempo of Shelert
born in1965 |
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Ch Sea Urchin of Shelert
born in 1961 |
Ch Rodhill
Burnt Sugar
born in 1965 |
Ch Sail Ho
at Shelert
born in 1971 |
By
the end of the sixties, Shelties were being bred by people who kept
just a few dogs in the house, which meant that the dogs were very much
part of the family, mixed with the children, saw all the visitors and
were beginning to become much more sociable. However, with the
increase in the number of Shelties being bred and shown, came a
decline in the quality of the puppies being produced. People were
taking less notice of the advice of the experienced breeders and were
producing Shelties without thinking of the future generations.
Temperament of course, was improving, but bad faults were creeping in,
like straight shoulders and upper arms, also Shelties which were well
over the size limit. Breeders were breeding from bitches of inferior
quality and mating them to stud dogs who were popular and winning well
at the time, without thinking whether or not the pedigrees of each
were compatible.
Then
came CEA!! Up until this time the only eye disease we had heard of was
PRA and this didn't really affect the Sheltie. Then Dr. Keith Barnett
who was the leading authority on animal eyes in this country visited
America and came back with the disturbing news of this new disease
which had been discovered in Shelties there.
Everyone breeding Shelties was encouraged to have
all their dogs tested. Some did and some decided it was best not to
know, so without making testing compulsory it was very difficult to
establish any kind of pattern of how the disease was, or was not
progressing in the U.K. Most of the newer breeders tested, but the pre
war people decided that it was best to leave well alone. By the mid
seventies, more testing was being done and a pattern of affected lines
was emerging, which meant some of the top stud dogs were no longer
being used by so many people. This led to quite a variation in type
and quality again, as breeders were tending to use clear dogs
irrespective of their pedigree or suitability.
Of course, much discussion followed on this
subject, whether or not we should concentrate mainly on eradicating
CEA or push CEA to the side and breed for the correct type.
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During
the eighties, the breed lost the influence of some of the top
kennels, Riverhill, Shelert and Exford being the main ones. With
their demise the breed had not only lost some outstanding
Shelties, but the knowledge and experience of their breeders
went with them. It is a well known fact that with age and
experience comes wisdom and knowledge, so the breed had then to
rely on those who had taken the trouble to learn and benefit
from the teachings of these knowledgeable people.
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Ch
Riverhill Ricotta
born in 1971 |
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Some new names have emerged in
the late eighties and nineties, some have fallen by the wayside,
others have proved to be beneficial to the breed by breeding for
correct type and quality. Sadly type is still varied, but this is
bound to happen when so many people are breeding, and do not have the
experience to know exactly what is meant by the correct type.
It is the
responsibility of every breeder and judge to concentrate on this true
Sheltie type and as we go into the next century we can only hope that
everyone understands the importance of doing this, thus keeping the
Sheltie as our standard describes it "a small long haired working dog
of great beauty" It is true to say that over the years there have been
changes in the appearance of the Sheltie, but the last forty years
have seen the improvement of the temperament which has to be an asset.
We now have to safeguard the breed and not allow it to become a tool
for ambitious people who are looking
for a quick way to the top and
who care nothing for the well being and future preservation of the
correct type. |
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Ch Loughrigg Kings Minstrel
born in 1971
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Champions in 1979:
Ch Shelert's Sinbad the Sailor and
Ch Shelert's Sands of Delight |
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