I have 3 Shelties and I love them so much! I have had other breeds (including mixed breeds!) throughout my life but mostly Shelties. They are amazingly smart. I think that they are probably one of the most trainable breeds and one of the quickest learning breeds. My oldest female is proving to be really promising in agility. There are two cons about the breed though. First of all, most of them tend to be barkers. I mean, they bark at everything especially when they are excited! My agility Sheltie barks the entire course. I’ve tried various techniquest to get them to quiet down but it’s proving futile. I want to warn anyone considering the breed. It’s definitely NOT an apartment dog! Secondly, they tend to be aloof around strangers. Two of mine are like that. The oldest is more like a Lab with not a hint of shyness but the others are very weary of strangers but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing! They do make EXCELLENT watchdogs! (Continued)
They require a lot of grooming and TONS of exercise (that’s if you want a happy dog!). I really recommend them for active families with a good sized fenced in yard. If you are considering a dog to do obedience or agility with, Shelties are an excellent choice as well as Aussies and Border Collies (two other very energetic and intelligent herding breeds). I love Boxers too! I had one named Buster who I loved so much! Poor Buster though. He was kind of a dumb jock dog! They don’t have quite the mental capacity of the Shetland Sheepdog but they are so loving. Another favorite breed of mine is the Golden Retriever. They are just super sweet dogs and that’s why they are so popular. Shelties are beautiful. Most tend to be way too big for the standard though. They should be around 14″ and 20 lbs. at the most and most I see are 16″ or more and like, 40 lbs! Breeders need to stop breeding their larger Shelties… Thanks for any opinions.