Tripper - A Beautiful Example of the Shetland Sheepdog

Tripper, a Sheltie, gave a lot of joy to his owner, Leah Rucker.

I found Tripper's photo so enchanting that I asked permission to post it. Shelties have a tender, loving look on their faces, unmatched by any other breed. Many times they break into a wide smile, so they are known as a happy breed.

Shelties have astonishing speed and agility, but combing them is quite a challenge. They need weekly combing, at least. I combed Precious and Treasure yesterday. Their legs have beautiful streaming hairs which add to their look of speed. Their chest hair is more like a lion's mane. Our old Precious loved having her hair done with a Kirby vacuum cleaner. She turned her body to get each part done with a grooming attachment. In contrast, the late Sacky (Cattle Dog) was terrified of the sound and required manual grooming.

Little Precious and Treasure? They had a rough life before they were rescued, so they get manual grooming. They resist a bit but they love having that extra hair removed.

Treasure likes to sleep outside in the winter, so she has a sleek, black, thick coat.