The Sheltie hails from the rugged Shetland Islands, which lie between Scotland and Norway, about 50 miles north of Scotland and a bit south of the Arctic Circle. These islands are also home to other small breeds of animals, such as Shetland Ponies and Shetland Sheep.

For many years, the Shetland Sheepdog was called the Toonie, taken from the Norwegian word for farm. Farmers bred the dogs, crossing the Border Collie with smaller dogs, to herd and protect their flocks of Shetland Sheep. Some speculate that one of the tasks of Shetland Sheepdogs was to protect the small sheep from birds. Indeed, many of today's Shelties seem to have a passion for chasing birds, and some even try to chase airplanes and helicopters flying overhead.

In the early 1800s, the Sheltie was brought to England and Scotland, where he was described as a miniature Collie. On the Shetland Islands, the farmers started breeding their small Shelties to be even smaller and fluffier, so they could sell them to visitors to the islands. It's rumored that a Prince Charles Spaniel (a variety of English Toy Spaniel) and some Pomeranian dogs, left on the island by tourists, were crossed with the native sheepdogs.

There was so much crossbreeding that by the end of the 19th century, islanders realized that the original type of dog was disappearing. There was much dissension about what the original dog had looked like, however, and how to get back to it. Some breeders believed they needed to crossbreed with Collies in order to regain the original type, some felt that they should breed only the existing Shelties who were closest to the original type, and others continued to crossbreed indiscriminately with other breeds to develop small, pretty pets.

Shelties of all three types were entered in dog shows in the early 20th century, up to World War I. In 1909, England's Kennel Club recognized the breed. Altogether, 28 Shelties were registered that year as Shetland Collies (rough). Four of them still appear in the pedigrees of many modern champion Shelties: two males named Lerwick Tim and Trim and two females named Inverness Topsy and Inga. The first Sheltie to be registered by the American Kennel Club was Lord Scott in 1911.

Collie breeders in England were unhappy about the name of the breed, however, and protested to the Kennel Club. This led to the change of the name to Shetland Sheepdog.

The Shetland Sheepdog stirred up controversy both in Great Britain and the United States for many years, with rumors of crossbreeding and long-running disagreements about what the breed should look like. As a consequence, many Shetland Sheepdog clubs were formed to support the different viewpoints. Finally, in 1930 the Scottish and English Clubs got together and agreed that the dog "should resemble a collie (rough) in miniature."

U.S. breeders imported Shelties from England until the 1950's, but by that time, American and British Shelties had begun to diverge greatly in type and size. Today, almost all Shetland Sheepdogs in the U.S. are descended from dogs that were imported from England between World Wars I and II.

As the breed became more well known, its numbers increased in the U.S. In the 1970s, their popularity exploded and Shelties appeared on the American Kennel Club's list of the ten most popular dogs in 12 of the next 15 years, peaking in the early 1990s. Today the Sheltie ranks 20th in popularity among the 155 breeds and varieties registered by the American Kennel Club.

And how is the Sheltie faring in his native Shetland Islands? Ironically, he's fairly rare in his rugged homeland--the breed has been replaced by the Border Collie.

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