I have 5 shelties and they really range in size (13" to 17") but I think they're all fabulous. If I was wanting a show dog, none of my babies would qualify (Indy could have in his youth) but I wanted loving companions. Four of our dogs we've had since very young puppy hood (Angus, obviously from birth) and Sasha we rescued at 13 months old. For the ones we picked as puppies; we chose them (or maybe they chose us) by personality and friendliness....not by size. I find it amusing when a person comes to look at a litter of our puppies and says "I want the runt" without regards to any other characteristic.