CKC Standards
 
The Official Canadian Breed Standards
 
Shetland Sheepdog
 
         Origin and Purpose:
          The Shetland Sheepdog, like the Collie, traces to the Border Collie of Scotland which, transported to the
          Shetland Islands and crossed with small, intelligent longhaired breeds, was reduced to miniature
          proportions. Subsequently crosses were made from time to time with Collies. This breed now bears the same
          relationship in size and general appearance to the Rough Collie as the Shetland Pony does to some of the
          larger breeds of horses. Although the resemblance between the Shetland Sheepdog and the Rough Collie is
          marked, there are differences which may be noted.
         General Apperance:
          The Shetland Sheepdog is a small, alert, rough-coated, long-haired working dog. He must be sound, agile
          and sturdy. The outline should be symmetrical that no part appears out of proportion to the whole. Dogs
          should appear masculine, bitches feminine.
         Temperment:
          The Shetland Sheepdog is intensely loyal, affectionate, and responsive to his owner. However, he may be
          reserved towards strangers but not to the point of showing fear or cringing in the ring.
          Faults: Shyness, timidity or nervousness. Stubbornness, snappiness, or ill temper.
         Size:
          The Shetland Sheepdog should stand between 13 and 16 in (33 - 41 cm) at the shoulder.
         NOTE: Height is determined by a line perpendicular to the ground from the top of the shoulder blades, the
          dog standing naturally with forelegs parallel to the line of measurement.
          Coat and Colour:
          The coat should be double, the outer coat consisting of long, straight, harsh hair, the undercoat short, furry,
         and so dense as to give the entire coat its 'stand-off' quality. The hair on the face, tips of ears and feet should be
smooth. Mane and frill should be abundant, and particularly impressive in males. The forelegs well feathered, the
hind legs heavily so, but smooth below the hock joint. Hair on tail profuse. NOTE: Excess hair on ears, feet, and
hocks may be trimmed for the show ring. Colour black, blue merle, and sable (ranging from golden through mahogany); marked with varying amounts of white and/or tan. Faults: Coat Short or flat, in whole or in part, wavy, curly,
soft or silky. Lack of undercoat. Smooth-coated specimens. Rustiness in a black or blue coat. Washed out or
degenerate colours, such as pale sable an faded blue. Self-colour in the case of blue merle, that is,
without any merling or mottling and generally appearing as a faded or dilute tricolour. Conspicuous white body
spots. Specimens with more than 50 per cent white shall be so severely penalized as to
effectively eliminate them from competition.
         Head:
          The head should be refined and its shape, when viewed from top or side, be a long, blunt wedge tapering
          slightly from ears to nose, which must be black. Top of scull should be flat, showing no prominence at
          nauchal crest (the top of the occiput). Cheeks should be flat and should merge smoothly into a well-rounded
          muzzle. Skull and muzzle should be of equal length, balance point being the inner corner of the eye. In
          profile, the topline of skull should parallel the topline of muzzle, but on a higher plane due to the presence of
          a slight but definite stop. Jaws clean and powerful. The deep, well-developed underjaw, rounded at the chin,
          should extend to base of nostril. Lips tight. Upper and lower lips must meet and fit smoothly together all the
          way around. Teeth level and evenly spaced. Scissors bits. Eyes medium size with dark, almond-shaped rims,
         set somewhat obliquely in skull. Colour must be dark with blue or merle eyes permissable in bluemerles only.
Ears small and flexible, placed high, carried three-fourths erect, with tips breaking forward. When in repose
          the ears fold lengthwise and are thrown back into the frill. Contours and chiseling of the head, the shape. set
          and use of ears, the placement, shape and colour of the eyes, combine to produce expression.
Normally the expression should be alert, gentle, intelligent and questioning. Towards strangers the eyes should
show watchfullness and reserve, but no fear. Faults: Two-angled head. Too prominent stop, or no stop.
Over-fill below, between or above eyes. Prominent nauchal crest. Domed skull. Prominent cheekbones.
Snipey muzzle. Short, receding or shallow underjaw, lacking breadth and depth. Overshot or under-shot,
missing or crooked teeth. Teeth visible when mouth is closed. Light, round, large or too small eyes.
Prominent haws. Ears set too low. Hound, prick, bat, twisted ears. Leather too thick or too thin.
         Neck:
   Neck should be muscular, arched, and of sufficient length to carry the head proudly. Faults: Too short and thick.
          Forequarters:
          From the withers the shoulder blades should slope at a 45-degree angle forward and downward to the
          shoulder joint. At the withers, they are separated only by the vertebra, but they must slope outward
          sufficiently to accomodate the desired spring of rib. The upper arm should join the shoulder blade as nearly
          as possible at a right angle. Elbow joint should be equidistant from the ground or from the withers.
Forelegs straight viewed from all angles, muscular and clean, and of strong bone.
Pasterns very strong, sinewy and flexible. Dewclaws may be removed.
          Faults: Insufficient angulation between shoulder and upper arm. Upper arm too short. Lack of outward
          slope of shoulders. Loose shoulders. Turning in or out of elbows. Crooked legs. Light bone.
         Body:
          In over-all appearance the body should appear moderately long as measured from shoulder joint to ischium
          (rearmost extremity of the pelvic bone), but much of this length is actually due to the proper angulation and
          breadth of the shoulder and hindquarter, as the back itself should be comparatively short. Back should be
          level and strongly muscled. Chest should be deep, the brisket reaching to point of elbow. The ribs should be
          well sprung, but flattened at their lower half to allow free play of the foreleg and shoulder. There should be
          a slight arch at the hip bone (pelvis) should be set at a 30-degree angle to the spine. Abdomen moderately
          tucked up. Faults: Back too long., too short, swayed or roached. Barrell ribs, Slab-sides. Chest narrow
          and/or too shallow. Croup higher than withers. Croup too straight or too steep.
          HINDQUARTERS: The thigh should be broad and muscular. The thighbone should be set into the pelvis at
          a right angle corresponding to the angle of the shoulder blade and upper arm. Stifle bones join the
          thighbone and should be distictly abgled at the stifle joint. The over-all length of the stifle should at least
          equal the length of the thighbone, and preferably, should slightly exceed it. Hock joint should be clean-cut,
          angular, sinewy, with good bone and strong ligamentation. The hock (metatarsus) should be short and
          straight viewed from all angles. Dewclaws should be removed. Feet should be oval and compact with the
toes well arched and fitting tightly together. Pads deep and tough, nails hard and strong.
    Faults: Narrow thighs. Cowhocks. Hocks turning out. Poorly defined hock joint. Feet turning in or out.
          Splay feet. Hare feet. Cat feet.
          Tail:
          The tail should be sufficiently long so that when it is laid along the back edge of the hind legs the last
          vertebra will reach the hock joint. Carriage of the tail at rest is straight down or in a slight upward curve.
          When the dog is alert the tail is normally lifted, but it should not be curved forward over the back.
          Faults: Too short, twisted at end.
          Gait:
          The trotting gait of the Shetland Sheepdog should denote effortless speed and smoothness. There should be
          no jerkiness, nor stiff, stilted, up-and-down movement. The drive should be from the rear, true and straight,
          dependent upon correct angulation, musculation, and ligamentation of the entire hindquarter, thus allowing
          the dog to reach well under his body with his hind foot and propel himself forward. Reach of stride of the
          foreleg is dependant upon correct angulation, musculation and ligamentation of the forequarters, together
          with correct width of chest and construction of rib cage. The foot should be lifted only enough to clear the
          ground as the leg swings forward. Viewed from the front, both forelegs and hind legs should move forward
          almost perpendicular to ground at the walk, slanting a little inward at a slow trot, until at a swift trot the feet
          are brought so far inward towards centre line of body that the tracks left show two parallel lines of footprints
          actually touching a centre line at their inner edges. There should be no crossing of the feet or throwing of the
weight from side to side.
          Faults: Stiff, short steps. with a choppy, jerky movement. Mincing steps, with a hopping up and down, or
          a balancing of weight from side to side (ofter erroneously admired as a "dancing gait" but permissable is
          young puppies). Lifting of front feet in hackneylike action resulting in loss of speed and energy. Pacing gait.
         DISQUALIFICATIONS:
          Cryptorchidism in adults over 12 months of age. Heights below or above the desired range, i.e.,
13 - 16 in. (33 - 41 cm.). Brindle colour.

ROUGH COLLIE
Origin and Purpose:
Both the Rough and Smooth breeds of Collie originated in the British Isles. The Rough Collie
was originally used as a herding dog, while the Smooth Collie was the drover's dog.
General Appearance:
The Collie is a lithe, strong, responsive, active dog, carrying no useless timber, standing
naturally straight and firm. The deep moderately wide chest shows strength, the sloping
shoulders and well-bent hocks indicate speed and grace, and the face shows high intelligence.
The Collie presents an impressive, proud picture of true balance, each part being in
harmonious proportion to every other part and to the whole. Except for the technical description
that is essential to this Standard and without which no Standard for the guidance of breeders
and judges is adequate, it could be stated simply that no part of the Collie ever seems to be
out of proportion to any other part. Timidity, frailness, sullenness, viciousness, lack of
animation, cumbersome appearance, and lack of over-all balance impair the general character.
Coat and Colour:
The well-fitting, proper-textured coat is the crowning glory of the Rough variety of Collie. It is
abundant except on the head and legs. The outer coat is straight and harsh to the touch. A
soft, open outer coat or a curly outer coat, regardless of quantity, is penalized. The undercoat,
however, is soft, furry, and so close together that it is difficult to see the skin when the hair is
parted. The coat is very abundant on the mane and frill. The face or mask is smooth. The
forelegs are smooth and well feathered to the back of the pasterns. The hind legs are smooth
below the hock joints. Any feathering below the hocks is removed for the show rings. The hair
on the tail is very profuse and on the hips it is long and bushy. The texture, quantity, and the
extent to which the coat "fits the dog" are important points.
The five recognized colours are "Sable and White", "Tricolour", "Blue Merle", "Sable Merle" and
"White". There is no preference among them. The "Sable and White" is predominantly sable [a
sable colour of varying shades from light gold to dark mahogany] with white markings usually
on the chest, neck, legs, feet and tip of the tail. A blaze may appear on the foreface or
backskull or both. The "Tricolour" is predominantly black, carrying white markings as in a
"Sable and White", and has tan shading on and about the head and legs. The "Blue Merle" is a
mottled or "marbled" colour, predominantly blue-grey and black with white markings as in the
"Sable and White" and usually has tan shadings as in the "Tricolour". The "Sable Merle" is
predominantly a light sable with darker sable mottling or marbling as in the "Blue Merle" and
with white markings as in the "Sable and White". The "White" is predominantly white, with
sable, tricolour, blue merle, or sable merle markings on the head and elsewhere.
Head:
The head properties are of great importance. When considered in proportion to the size of
the dog, the head is inclined to lightness and never appears massive. A heavy headed
dog lacks the necessary bright, alert, full-of-sense look that contributes so greatly to
expression.
Both in front and profile view the head bears a general resemblance to a well-blunted
wedge, being smooth and clean in outline and nicely balanced in proportion. On the sides
it tapers gradually and smoothly from the ears to the end of the black nose, without being
flared out in backskull (cheeky) or pinched-in muzzle and the width of the backskull is
less than its length. Thus the correct width varies with the individual and is dependent
upon the extent to which it is supported by length of muzzle.
There is a slight prominence of the eyebrows. The backskull is flat, without receding
either laterally or backward and the occipital bone is not highly peaked. The proper width
of backskull necessarily depends upon the combined length of skull and muzzle and the
width of the backskull is less than its length. Thus the correct width varies with the
individual and is dependent upon the extent to which it is supported by length of muzzle.
A midpoint between the inside corners of the eyes (which is the centre of the correctly
placed stop) is the centre of balance in length of head.
The end of the smooth, well-rounded muzzle is blunt but not square. The underjaw is
strong, clean-cut and the depth of balance in length of head.
The teeth are of good size, meeting in a scissor bite.
Because of the combination of the flat skull, the arched eyebrows, the slight stop and the
rounded muzzle, the foreface must be chiseled to form a receptacle for the eyes and they
are necessarily placed obliquely to give them the required forward outlook. Except for the
blue merles, they are required to be matched in colour. They are almond shaped, of
medium size and never properly appear to be large or prominent. The colour is dark and
the eye does not show a yellow ring or a sufficiently prominent haw to affect the dog's
expression.
The eyes have a clear, bright appearance, expressing intelligent inquisitiveness,
particularly when the ears are drawn up and the dog is on the alert.
In blue merles, dark brown eyes are preferable, but either or both eyes may be merle or
china in colour without specific penalty.
A large, round, full eye seriously detracts from the desired "sweet" expression.
The ears are in proportion to the size of the head and, if they are carried properly and
unquestionably "break" naturally, are seldom too small. Large ears usually cannot be
lifted correctly off the head and even if lifted they will be out of proportion to the size of the
head. When in repose the ears are folded lengthwise and thrown back into the frill. On the
alert they are drawn up well up on the back skull and are carried about three-quarters
erect, with about one-forth of the ear tipping or "breaking" forward.
Expression is one of the most important points in considering the relative value of Collies.
"Expression", like the term "character", is difficult to define in words. It is not a fixed point
as in colour, weight, or height and it is something the uninitiated can properly understand
only by optical illustration. In general, however, it may be said to be the combined product
of the shape and balance of the skull and muzzle, the placement, size, shape and colour
of the eyes, and the position, size and carriage of the ears. An expression that shows
sullenness or which is suggestive of any other breed is entirely foreign. The Collie cannot
be judged properly until its expression has been carefully evaluated.
Neck:
The neck is firm, clean, muscular, sinewy, and heavily frilled. It is fairly long, is carried
upright with a slight arch at the nape and imparts a proud, upstanding appearance
showing off the frill.
Forequarters:
The forelegs are straight and muscular, and with a fair amount of bone considering the
size of the dog. A cumbersome appearance is undesirable. The forearm is moderately
fleshy and the pasterns are flexible, but without weakness.
Body:
The back is strong and level, supported by powerful hips and thighs and the croup is
sloped to give a well-rounded finish. The body is firm, hard, and muscular, a trifle long in
proportion to the height. The ribs are well rounded behind the well-sloped shoulders and
the chest is deep, extending to the elbows. The line is powerful and slightly arched.
Hindquarters:
The hind legs are less fleshy than the forelegs, are muscular at the thighs, very sinewy
and the hocks and stifles are well bent. The comparatively small feet are approximately
oval in shape. The soles are well padded and tough and the toes are well arched and
close together. When the Collie is not in motion, the legs and feet are judged by allowing
the dog to come to a natural stop in a standing position so that both the forelegs and the
hind legs are placed well apart., with the feet extending straight forward. Excessive
"posing" is undesirable.
Tail:
The tail is moderately long, the bone reaching to the hock joint or below. It is carried low
when the dog is quiet, the end having an upward twist or "swirl". When gaited or when the
dog is excited it is carried gaily, but not over the back.
Gait:
Gait is sound. When the dog is moved at a slow trot towards an observer, its straight front
legs are not out at the elbows, do not "cross over", neither does the dog move with a
choppy, pacing, or rolling gait. When viewed from the rear the hind legs are straight,
tracking comparatively close together at the ground. At a moderate trot the hind legs are
powerful and propelling. Viewed from the side the reasonably long, "reaching" stride is
smooth and even, keeping the back line firm and level.
As the speed of the gait is increased, the Collie single tracks, bringing the front legs
inward in a straight line from the shoulder toward the center line of the body and the hind
legs inward in a straight line from the hip towards the centre line of the body. The gait
suggests effortless speed combined with the dog's herding heritage, requiring it to be
capable of changing its direction of travel almost instantaneously.
Faults:
A soft, open outer coat or a curly outer coat, regardless of quantity, is penalized.
Because of the importance of the head characteristics, prominent head faults are severely
penalized. Overshot or undershot jaws are undesirable, the latter being more severely
penalized. Eye faults are heavily penalized. A dog with prick ears or low ears cannot
show true expression and is penalized accordingly. Both narrow and wide placement of
the forelegs are penalized. Noticeable fat dogs or dogs in poor flesh or with skin diseases
or with no undercoat are out of condition and are moderately penalized accordingly. A dog
which moves cow hocked, or a dog with straight stifles, should be penalized.
DISQUALIFICATIONS:
Monorchid or crytorchid in grown males.
 Collie (Smooth)
The Smooth variety of Collie judged by the same standard as the Rough variety, except
that the references to the quantity and distribution of the coat are not applicable to the
Smooth variety, which has a short, hard, dense, flat coat of good texture, with an
abundance of undercoat.

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