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50 free Shetland Sheepdog trivia questions with answers — nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This Shetland Sheepdog trivia quiz covers the Sheltie from its obscure island origins to the agility ring. Questions run through the Spitz-type island sheepdog, the Yakki brought by Greenland whalers, the yacht-borne King Charles Spaniel of folk tale, James Loggie's Rough Collie cross, the 1909 Kennel Club recognition and the row that forced 'Shetland Collie' to become 'Shetland Sheepdog', plus Badenock Rose and Lord Scott. The standard is covered in detail: the harsh double coat and mane, sable to mahogany, blue merle, tricolour, the 14.5-inch ideal, semi-erect ears, almond eyes and the wedge head. Health questions take in Collie eye anomaly, MDR1 drug sensitivity, von Willebrand disease, the striking gall bladder mucocele figure and hip statistics, while temperament covers Coren's 6th place out of 138. There are also questions on the Rough Collie comparison, the Icelandic Sheepdog, the Shetland pony and the islands themselves. Questions run from easy to expert with the difficulty shown on each one, and every answer was checked against a reference page and carries its citation. If you enjoy it, try our Dogs and Border Collie quizzes next.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01The Sheltie's native islands lie between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and which country?
Norway
They sit about 140 miles west of Norway and 110 miles from mainland Scotland.
Q 02The Shetland Islands, home of the Sheltie, are the northernmost region of which country?
The United Kingdom
They lie about 110 miles from mainland Scotland, out in the North Sea.
Q 03In which year did the Kennel Club formally recognise the Shetland Sheepdog?
1909
The first registered Sheltie was a female called Badenock Rose.
Q 04The breed's original name upset a rival breed's fanciers and had to be changed. Who objected?
Breeders of the larger collie
The Kennel Club at first refused to recognise the breed at all, then agreed on condition the name changed.
Q 05The Sheltie is described as a small dog that is clever, vocal, willing to please and what?
Trustworthy
It was developed to thrive in the harsh, meagre conditions of its native islands.
Q 06Which of the Sheltie's fellow Shetland animals has been extinct since about 1930?
The grice, a pig
The semi-domesticated grice had a habit of attacking lambs.
Q 07The Sheltie's original ancestors were dogs of which type?
Spitz
The original island sheepdog probably resembled the modern Icelandic Sheepdog and was later crossed with mainland collies.
Q 08The Sheltie's ancestors were crossed with the Yakki, an Icelandic dog brought by whalers from where?
Greenland
The Yakki stood about 14 inches and was usually black with tan or white markings.
Q 09The dark snout shading on some sable Shelties, a legacy of early black-and-tans, is called what?
A smutty muzzle
Many early Shetlands were black and white or black and tan.
Q 10Folk tales say one contributor to the Sheltie's ancestry was a King Charles Spaniel that arrived how?
From a yacht
Pomeranian ancestry is also thought likely, given the breed's appearance.
Q 11Who added a small collie to the breeding stock in the early 1900s, shaping the modern Sheltie?
James Loggie
Crosses to Rough Collies continued until the 1940s to keep the desired type.
Q 12How tall were the original mixed-breed Shetland herding dogs at the shoulder?
About 8 to 12 inches
The first breed club then set a maximum of 15 inches.
Q 13The first breed club wanted a miniature collie no taller than what?
15 inches
Such standards led breeders to add collie blood to hit the miniature-collie look.
Q 21What is the ideal height at the withers for a male Shetland Sheepdog?
14.5 inches
Bitches should be 14 inches; more than an inch either way is undesirable.
Q 22How are a Sheltie's ears carried when the dog is alert?
Semi-erect and tipped forward
They are small and set close together on top of the head.
Q 23A Sheltie's eyes are always dark brown except in which case, where one or both may be blue?
Those with merle coats
The eyes are medium-sized and almond-shaped.
Q 14What breed replaced the now-extinct Spitz-type working sheepdog for herding on Shetland?
The Border Collie
Shelties were used for herding until commercial farming demanded bigger dogs.
Q 15Which colour casts in a blue merle Sheltie's coat does the standard call highly undesirable?
Slate or rusty
The overall effect of the coat must read as blue.
Q 16What was the name of the first Sheltie registered with the American Kennel Club, in 1911?
Lord Scott
Badenock Rose was the first registered with the English Kennel Club two years earlier.
Q 17The general appearance of the Shetland Sheepdog is that of a miniature what?
Rough Collie
Despite the resemblance, the Sheltie is not simply a bred-down Rough Collie.
Q 18The Sheltie's outer coat is described as long, straight and what?
Harsh-textured
The undercoat is soft, short and close to the skin, and the long coat should form a mane.
Q 19Sable Shelties range from pale gold to what?
Mahogany
Wolf-sable and grey are undesirable.
Q 20A blue merle Sheltie's coat is described as silvery blue with what markings preferred?
Splashed and marbled black
Tan markings are welcome but not required.
Q 24The Sheltie's head is described as a long wedge tapering from where to where?
From the ears to the nose
The muzzle is the same length as the skull, dividing at the corner of the eye.
Q 25In Stanley Coren's 1995 intelligence rankings, where did the Shetland Sheepdog place out of 138 breeds?
6th
An average Sheltie learned a new command in under five repetitions and obeyed first time 95 per cent of the time.
Q 26A UK study found what life expectancy for the Shetland Sheepdog?
13.4 years
A Japanese cemetery study put it even higher at 14.3 years.
Q 27Shetland Sheepdogs have four times the usual risk of which cancer?
Transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder
The breed is also predisposed to lupus, dermatomyositis and other skin conditions.
Q 28A UK study found Shelties how many times likelier than other dogs to develop gall bladder mucocele?
93.87-fold
An insertion mutation in the ABCB4 gene is strongly associated with the condition in the breed.
Q 29The Sheltie's MDR1 gene mutation causes sensitivity to which common anti-parasite drug, among others?
Ivermectin
Loperamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and erythromycin are also on the danger list.
Q 30In a study of a million hip scores, what dysplasia rate made the Sheltie fifth-lowest of sixty breeds?
4.2%
Its eyes and gall bladder, not its hips, are the breed's weak points.