John and Mary Rueckert's Heart O'Gold Shetland Sheepdogs

· Dogs - Things to think about ·
· Shelties - Things to think about ·
· What is important ·
· What is not important ·
· What we have learned over the years ·
· Dreams and Goals ·

Our car has a bumper sticker on it that goes something like this - 'The more I deal with some people, the more I love my dog'. I don't really think we are anti-social, but it certainly says something about our commitment to dogs. News files are full of stories about heroic dogs. Have you ever heard of a Seeing Eye cat, a bomb sniffing rabbit, or a horse swimming out to rescue a drowning child? How do you usually hear dogs described? The words that come to mind are loyal, trustworthy, devoted, reliable, dedicated, and loving. Unlike many people who are calculating, mercantile, manipulative, or have ulterior motives, the dog is without question a friend of the best kind. Not only does he not question your human failings, but would give his life without question to protect you from harm. How many people do you know that would truly do this for you, if confronted with the choice? They say when God gave man his best friend he named it 'Dog' because it was so pure and innocent and good that he simply reversed the spelling of his own name. Who are we to question the wisdom of God?

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Of all the breeds of dogs, we love Shelties the most. These little dogs truly do have a 'Heart O' Gold'. In our 30 years of Sheltie ownership, we have never had one that was a problem. Size is truly a benefit. We have 15 housedogs! How many other breeds do you think we could do that with? Collies? No way! Shelties are very smart - always in the top 3 breeds by number in earning obedience titles. This intelligence equates to trainability, which relates to reliability - in the house, on the street, with children, and most other life situations to which your dog must adjust in today's ever changing world. Because Shelties are herding dogs the boundary instinct is present, which makes it possible to train this breed to certain areas of the house or yard. Although this is possible with other herding breeds, it is not possible with many other breeds. Try boundary training a hound or terrier. Although this is a long hair breed that does shed, we find Shelties in general to be very odor free and easy to keep. Even though all our dogs are housedogs, people tell us that our house and kennel smells clean. Periodic brushing keeps loose hair to a minimum and they just don't seem to generate the coat oil and odors of a lot of other breeds. I can tell you for a fact that the loose short hair and oily odor of a single Beagle we owned years ago was much worse in comparison. Shelties do like to bark, so people bothered by this or living in houses with common walls might want to think twice about this (nothing in the world is perfect, but a Sheltie comes close).

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(The twelve commandments of the ethical breeder)

Well planned, researched, and thought out breeding aimed always at improvement
Limited breeding - quantity does not equal quality
Go slow - although we are dealing with a relatively problem free breed, some problems don't show up for several years. Those moving too fast are so far into the problem before they know it that it becomes virtually impossible to eliminate.
Genetic screening to identify major hereditary faults
Honesty - we can't eliminate problems if we don't know about them
Breed first for structure and temperament - this is the foundation of a healthy dog that anyone can live with. Remember that we create many more pets than show dogs!
It must be fun
Maintain the highest ethical standards
Lead by example
Always be available to mentor newcomers and owners
Provide a safe nurturing environment for dogs in our care
Put the welfare of our dogs ahead of personal interests

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Money
Politics
Gossip
What others think (except for honest criticism from trusted friends)
Anything that jeopardizes the safety, health, or happiness of the dogs

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There are many highly talented Sheltie breeders
This is a high quality improving breed
Sheltie breeders are highly competitive
Dog breeders are either highly ethical or terribly unethical - not many fall in the middle
Most Sheltie breeders fall to the good side
Pet shops, puppy mills and backyard breeders all fall to the bad side
Money, politics and ambition corrupt
Everyone is human
Only a dog's love is without limits
Most people think we are nuts!

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To win at the ASSA Nationals (ha, ha - we'd have a drop dead heart attack if this happened)
To continue being happy with the dogs we love
To become an AKC licensed judge (John)
To compete ethically and win based on quality, not politics (thank you to the judges who continue to make this a realistic goal and not a frustrating impossibility)
To be among the best, not the biggest names in the breed

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Heart O' Gold Nugget - "The average dog is a nicer person than the average person." - Andrew A. Rooney

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