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Shetland Sheepdog:
Commonly referred to as the Sheltie, Shetland Sheepdogs of 100 years ago were much smaller than their modern descendents, usually weighing between 7 and 10 pounds. Also unlike modern Shelties, they had only medium length fur and a wider, shorter muzzle.
Bred to be considerably larger, today’s Shetland Sheepdogs weigh around 20 pounds and have much longer fur. Parents of modern Shelties are advised to routinely check the health of their dog’s eyes, hips, and thyroid, as the breed is now genetically predisposed to certain diseases and ailments in these areas. Breeding has also created what is known as a “double-merle” in this breed, an often lethal result of breeding two merle coated dogs together which almost always results in blindness, deafness (or both), and other serious health issues.
Although many modern dog breeds are drastically different than their ancestors, that isn’t to say that all breeding is bad and must be stopped. Reputable breeders will consider their dog’s health and vitality above breeding for extreme physical characteristics. However, until conformation and breed judging includes health and genetics as part of their criteria, we’ll likely continue to see drastic, life-threatening changes to our favorite breeds over the next 100 years.
Melissa Wildes
Feb 16, 2018 at 2:25 am
There are still chow chows that look like the original natural chow. I have two of them. Both are AKC registered purebreds. They are known as open faced vs the modern show dogs which are closed face, but look a bit like furry bulldogs to me.
Tammy
Jan 24, 2017 at 4:40 pm
State taken they act like every dog has been ruined rubbish just rubbish I call this breeder bashing ..
Sara
Jan 11, 2017 at 2:34 pm
Double merle is NOT lethal! It can cause deafness and blindness, but no other “serious health issues” are attributed to the coat pattern. It is wrong to breed merle to merle, but do not pass on myths and misinformation!
Pat Jackson
Dec 30, 2016 at 9:16 am
Sadly, they didn’t include what they have done to the Collie either. It is shameful as they only slightly resemble what they are meant to be!
Mike M
Dec 29, 2016 at 7:32 pm
You didn’t even mention the catastrophic health problems of Goldens and Dobermans. Once Victorian ideas of racial purity led to the concept of ‘pure breeds’ and closed breeding books, all current registered pure breeds became inevitably doomed to genetic collapse due the mathematical certainty of loss of genetic diversity. Drastically selective breeding that created such disasters as the modern English Bulldog hasten the process, but the overall result is determined by principles of population genetics discovered almost a hundred years ago. It doesn’t matter how many dogs there are in a breed if they are all essentially cousins.
Diana L
Dec 23, 2016 at 4:06 pm
I just scheduled to share this post on my business FB page. Very interesting read! I love the photos, well researched.
Ginny Mobley
May 22, 2016 at 11:36 am
We’ve got a Dogue de Bordeaux..and thankfully they’ve not changed much since the 1800s revival of the breed.
Elizabeth Brinkley
Apr 19, 2016 at 2:17 am
I have raised, trained and shown Shetland Sheepdogs for more than 40 years and the breed has improved immensely. When I first started it was very common for shelties to spin and twirl on a leash and spook at every loud sound. We have bred away from that kind of temperament and the modern sheltie is friendly and stable. Health testing for the “problems” you mention have removed those problems from the breed in general but we keep testing to make sure they don’t come back. The same problems can occur in shelter mixed breed dogs but nobody tests them. Double merles have always been around and are NOT the creation of modern breeding. Quite the contrary – blue to blue breedings that can result in a double merle are seldom EVER done anymore. I would strongly suggest anyone interested in a sheltie check out the website of our parent club – the American Shetland Sheepdog Association (ASSA) for the TRUTH about our beautiful breed and not believe the half-baked outdated ideas in this article
Ellen Antoniades
Apr 12, 2016 at 6:25 pm
I had a beautiful German Shepherd of the old kind. This was over 30 years ago. He was very fast, smart, loyal, agile, great health, and ran like a greyhound. I do not care for any of these new unattractive versions. I live in a high end neighborhood that is full of these new breeds. I dare say most are very unattractive to down right ugly. Unfortunately, the changes match the owners obsessions with small upturned noses, over blown cheekbones, and other new deformations that do not match the classic beauties. I suggest everyone visit the shelters for some beautiful dogs and cats and show them what real beauty is.
Chuck
Apr 10, 2016 at 6:31 pm
Sharpei. Look up the original. Bone Mouth Sharpei. Todays are mostly known with out their true tile which is Meat Mouth Sharpei. The original came from China, a Long time ago. The breeding has given them skin allergies, along with sight issues due to the amount of skin on their face. More skin more sight issues. The original Bone Mouth was like a Hot Rod , compared to the Meat Mouth, which is more like a Bulldozer. I have my second one. He has the Bone Mouth head but the Meat Mouth body. Nice looking Bulldozer.
Harlan Weikle
Apr 10, 2016 at 1:01 pm
Of the 200 dogs we have assisted with “loaner” wheel chairs through Red Flyer, The Handicapped Pets Community – FB, 85 are represented by these 10 breeds or approximately 43%.