Sheltie Pin

As the Sheltie Pin is a relatively new breed, we need to look at the Miniature Pin and the Shetland Sheepdog for information about why he may have been created in the first place. The parent breed's origin stories will help to explain the significance of the name, body type, and ancestry of not only themselves, but also of the Sheltie Pin. For instance, when we look at the Shetland Sheepdog, we can see where the Sheltie Pin gets his affectionate and easy-going nature from. The Sheltie is a breed that gets along well with everyone and was initially created on the small Shetland Islands to help with herding sheep. This makes them a sweet, incredibly intelligent, and all-around happy dog who loves nothing more than to please their master. Back before Shelties were very well known, visitors who came to the Shetland Islands fell in love with the little "fairy dogs" and ended up taking one with them as a souvenir. In this way, the Sheltie was able to see the world, and became quite popular as more and more people fell in love with his beautiful appearance and golden personality. A few of the breeds that were used in the creation of the Sheltie are thought to be the King Charles Spaniel, the Pomeranian, and the Large Collie; all of which contributed to his amazing personality and long, light coat. Because of this wide mixture (with a few other breeds thrown in later), the Shelties today can vary largely in color and size. This breed was accepted into the American Kennel Club in 1911, but due to the differences in his appearance, the Sheltie was rejected by the Scottish Shetland Sheepdog Club because he offended Collie breeders; this is really too bad because the Sheltie is a gorgeous dog with a great personality who is much adored by people everywhere as a companion and a showman. The Miniature Pinscher is usually thought of as a much smaller Doberman Pinscher, but in reality, this breed was created about 200 years before the Doberman came into existence. The breeds that make up the Min Pin's ancestry consists of the Dachshund, old German Pinscher, Manchester Terrier, and Italian Greyhound. As can be imagined, the end result of this combo is a very spirited, lively toy sized dog! Initially, the Min Pin's popularity as a ratter only spread as far as Germany and Scandinavian countries, but eventually his skills in catching rats and his proud personality caught the attention of many other dog lovers. He was registered by the American Kennel Club in 1925 as a Terrier at first thanks to his talent of ratting, but that only lasted about four years. Once the Miniature Pinscher Club of America was formed, the Min Pin was reclassified as a toy breed in 1930.  Today, the Min Pin is one of the higher ranking American Kennel Club breeds in popularity and has been used as a show and companion dog for many years.