Maybe it's a regional thing? The dog is certainly called a sheltie here in Australia. I did a google image search for sheltie, and only got dogs and no ponies... but the dictionary says it applies to both and just means they're from the Shetland Islands.

That's a Shetland Sheepdog. A Sheltie is a toy pony.

Ask any farmer from the Shetland Islands. One is worthy of respect, the other is a toy pony.

^They'll be buds for life. I'd trust that collie sheltie around that child before I'd trust most people. It's not the dog you need train (well, not THIS dog). It's the child. No tail-pulling, no fur or ear-grabbing, no hitting, etc.

>> ^Payback:
Well... technically Jacob wasn't lying. He's a Were-Collie.


Actually, I think he's a Were-Sheltie, which is even worse.

HorsSujet, not exactly. Dobermans and German Shepards went through a similar time as well, back in the 60's German Shepards couldn't keep up with their popularity so were inbred by unethical breeders and over the years they developed some problems and developed a bad reputation for a time. Years later it was the Doberman, if a movie wanted to show a "scary" dog it was that.

Today it seems to be more the Rottweiler and pit bull type, it's just the fashion of the moment. It's a problem of two things the way I see it, bad breeding and bad press ruining an otherwise decent breed. Idiots who want a "tough" dog gravitate toward this one these days and are ruining this breed instead of another, odds are eventually the fashions will change and they'll go ruin yet another as we try to recover this one like we did the dobie and shepard.

My wife points out to me that dogs she's seen abused tend to go one of two ways. They either turn into defensive biters or nervous pissers. If you beat a Sheltie you'll probably get a scared dog that pees when it sees you, beat a Shepard, Doberman, Rottweiler or pit bull and things might not work out as well. When due to abuse or poor breeding a problem does happen a "pit bull" attack is big news we'll hear about, one from most other breeds more likely a back page story if one at all. It's just the current fashion.

It isn't that they can't be a problem, just that things aren't always what they seem. It's a decent breed that's had a run of bad luck, and not of their own fault.