Full Coat Normally, a Sheltie will be fully mature by the time it is three to five years old. Don’t expect your puppy to have a fuller coat until at lest they reach 2 years of age. Spaying/neutering will help promote coat growth, as will a healthy, balanced diet. We recommend Iams puppy food, and when your dog is a year old, change to Iams dog food. Groom your puppy when it is still young even though it dose not need it. The routine will help the puppy get use to it and an joy the grooming when it is older do the Grooming at least every other month—brush and bathe it, keep its nails trimmed and its ears cleaned out. Or take it to a groomers to have these things done. The average cost of a good groomer is $30-$45 in 2018, depending on where you live and the weight of the dog.
Shedding Most spayed/neutered Shelties will shed once a year after turning two or three years old. Many neutered male Shelties will shed heavily once every two years. A thorough monthly brushing is usually more than adequate.
Barking Shelties bark more than the average pet. However, if you train them properly while they are a puppy while there body are small and there voice is soft you have a better out come. You must do it before they are 6 months old or it can be very hard to break the habit. Use a pop can with pennies in it, or a spray bottle with water, and avoid leaving your Sheltie outside for more than 20 minutes at a time, the barking will be kept at a minimum. Very few Shelties bark inside for no reason. They mostly bark if they hear someone drive up or knock on the door. Some even bark at the vacuum cleaner, but with proper training you can teach your Sheltie to bark appropriately.
Size and Life Span Predicting a Sheltie’s size is very difficult for even the most experienced Breeder. On average, Shelties range from 19 to 28 pounds and 13” to 16” in height. They vary below and above this range. Shelties can live from 10 to 13-plus years. Ours are sold as pets only and are AKC registered. A general rule is to look at the feet and legs. A puppy with very large or small feet or legs can sometimes be expected to be outside the normal size limits.
White Collar Quality Whether or not your puppy has a full white collar in no way reflects his quality. It may be a personal preference for your puppy to have a full white collar, but first think about its health and temperament, and then about how much or how little white yours has.
Male or Female It seems that males and females are easier to train. If there is a differences it is very small. Both males and females will grow to whatever size their feet and bone structure is. Males can be small, and females can be big.
Back Yard Fencing A fenced yard will protect your Sheltie by keeping other people’s un-vaccinated pets out of your yard, keep your Sheltie from wandering off and, no matter how trained it is, a Sheltie is a herding breed and will herd whatever it can, including children, rabbits, squirrels, other dogs, lawnmowers, four wheelers etc.
Healthcare Shelties are one of the healthiest breeds. However, there are certain problems that all Sheltie owners need to be aware of. Make sure the breeder gave your puppy at least one set of vaccinations (Distemper, Adenovirus, Hepatitis, Corona virus, Parinfluenza). If you purchase an older puppy, it may also have had Leptospira, Bordetella, and Lyme vaccinations. At six months of age, your puppy will require rabies vaccine. When you pick your puppy up from the breeder, it will be under a great deal of stress. Take your puppy to the vet within two or three days of when the next vaccination is due. Sometimes stress can cause a parasite flare up (Giardia, Coccidia), and all puppies are born with parasites. A good breeder will give you records of your puppy to show to the vet.