What's wrong with her fur.?

[ute_fan]

My Callie and my daughter's dog Shelby are sisters -- from the same litter. They're also purebreds, but not show quality dogs. Callie's fur is closer to that of a traditional Sheltie, but Shelby's is a very different texture -- coarser, and almost wiry.

Callie, on the other hand, isn't nearly as full-coated as my daughter-in-law's Sheltie Sasha (yes, we like Sheltie's in our family). The weird thing is that Callie sheds far less than either Shelby or Sasha. From my limited experience, there can be a fair amount of variation in their fur textures.

 

[EJHUNTL]

I think she meant she did not care that she wasn't show quality? I think she has the sweetest expression and I love the photo ofher lying on her back ( my Hanna will not do that ). At 3 I would think this is how her coat is going to be.
She's still beautiful.

 

[Junebug]

http://www.illinoissheltierescue.com/thyroid.html

I've known shelties with the full coats and some that could pass for "smooth" shelties. Much depends on the bloodlines of the particular dog. Also, an unspayed female will blow coat after each heat cycle.

The only other thing I can think of is something I ran across looking at the illinois sheltie rescue-- low thyroid, which is more common in shelties than is commonly known. The above link is good reading, regardless of if it applies in this particular instance, because it's just good to know.

 

[Tabitha]

She IS purebred (not show quality but IDC) and I just love how beautiful shelties are..

Barb, I've quoted an important sentence from Chanel.renae's post. She was obviously saying that she didn't care that her dog wasn't so quality and that she is a pure sheltie. I really didn't see any signs that she could even be part collie. Did you look at all the pix? In the older ones she did have quite short fur, but in the newer ones you can see her fur has gotten longer and thicker.

 

[tentcamp]

Meggie is tall (20 in) with a shortish coat, my theory is that if she was a normal sized and the fur didn't have to stretch as far she would look like she had more of it. I've seen both her parents and they were both normal sized with long flowing beautiful coats, so you never know...

 

[HopeShelties]

She's a purebred but a bit of a throwback. Not all lines carry the big plush coat you see in showdogs. There are lines with so much coat that they require a large amount of sculpting by a skilled handler to bring out their shape. Then there are the dogs at the other end of the spectrum with a more fitted coat. Dogs of the past in the breed did not typically have a huge coat. It is a more recent thing that breeders have selected for, and the fitted coat does still pop up here and there. There are also dogs in the breed carrying a wavy coat. It isn't correct, but it has to do with genetics. You can get a harsh coat, soft coat, and wavy coat all within the breed.
In Saddlebred horses, even when from two really nice show horses, we would get throwbacks. The Saddlebred used to be a much more sturdy horse with more bone and the neck set wasn't quite as vertical. The breed is much more refined and extreme than in the past. You still get throwbacks to the old style Saddlebreds. And, like Shelties, Saddlebreds are still a young breed, created in the late 1800's so consistency isn't fully there yet.

 

[SheepOfBlue]

Is this for real? I don't know what to say about this.....the idea of an I Don't Care registry makes me shudder. If this is true, it is no laughing matter.

She meant that the pup is not show quality but she doesn't care about that.

Sca would get run out of any show ring for his border sheltie build but gets compliments everywhere he goes, has a wonderful temperament and is a great flyball Sheltie (well he is a failure as the height dog ) Spitfire would likely be more showy though I have never asked for a review. Of course the are both prong ears also as they are pets so the taping was not worth it to me

 

[Cyllian]

Jester has a somewhat silky wavy coat. Have make sure to brush him out if he gets a bath or he has a lot of it standing on end. He looks really funny that way.

Fox is not from the same breeder and his coat is nice straight and very thick has a consistency that is some what more coarse more like I think the coat should be.

Both dogs are pure bred akc registered and everything. Certainly would not think that Jester was a show quality dog. Wavy coat just being one thing on the list. Will his coat every calm down and fill out more since he is just two have to wait and see. As you say though this does not take away form them being a good companion and he is that.

 

[Chanel.renae]

Is she just a late bloomer.?

So today I was brushing her (Tarra my 3 year old) and I noticed that in some places her fur was long and thick.. Maybe she is just a late bloomer but her fur is still growing.? What do you think.?

 

[Mom2Melli]

I'm going to take a whole different direction. . . First, what do you feed? Coat can be affected by nutrition and even additional supplements. Second, how often do you bathe/what type of shampoo? Dogs can blow coat if bathed very often and/or bathed with harsh shampoos. Third, what do you groom with? Some tools are harder on the coat than others such has a shedding rake, furminator, pincushion brush with pin-tips, certain combs, and such. Fourth, what is your home temperature? Even that can keep a coat a bit on the short side for some animals.

Genetics have been definitely talked about -- some dogs just have shorter coats. But there are some enviromental factors that can possible have some influence as well as coats can break off. I used to show Persian cats and it took both genetics and husbandry to get the cats to the stunning show coats from the inside out.