Little Sheltie?

That is funny. I only get comments about Tully's size (tad under 13") particularly around Deska (16"). But when we're at confirmation shows both mine look big as the shelties being shown now are smaller and fine boned - seems to be the trend here now. I think Tully looks bigger because of the fuller coat.

I have noticed on the Sheltie height/weight spreadsheet that the average is just over 16", so maybe that's becoming the norm in America?

 

the thing with the spreadsheet is that most of us have pet shelties that were more than likely identified early as likely to go over size.

When I got Callie- she was in the 15" size range- I got both comments on how small and how big she was and she was in size which I had to explain to people.

Now- two oversize and two in-size- it's fun with that

 

I get told all the time that my guys are small--but that's from the non-sheltie experts. My brown dogs are both just slightly under 16", but they are fine boned so they are bigger than people think. Everyone thinks Enzo is tiny and are surprised when I tell them he's 14.5".

I think bone plays a huge part in how big shelties seem.

 

I get the same thing with Ruffles. She is also 15 inches, but very petite and fine-boned, with a head in proportion to her body. Apparently it does make a difference, especially in the show ring. She's had some success and is pointed, but has more losses than wins. Stacked against other Shelties, she looks smaller and people always ask if she's a puppy. Fortunately, she has a personality to match and we love her to bits.

 

For non-sheltie people I think that they just don't realize how small shelties are. I post a lot of pictures of the puppies on Facebook and Instagram and every single time that someone meets them for the first time they always are like "oh my gosh they are so small!" They've seen the pictures but they still imagine that they are bigger than they are.