What Can I Do With My Sheltie?
Our Members Enjoy These Activities
The American Kennel Club (AKC) offers a diverse range of sanctioned events for Sheltie enthusiasts to showcase their dogs’ skills and abilities. There are various venues to participate in that demand a significant level of dedication and training for both the dog and its handler.
Participating in these events offers Sheltie owners an amazing opportunity to connect with other dog enthusiasts, display their dogs’ talents, and earn coveted titles, which not only enhance the dog’s overall reputation but also offers a joyous sense of achievement for their devoted owners.
These events can range from obedience trials, conformation shows, rally competitions, and agility challenges, to name a few. Overall, the AKC offers a great avenue for Sheltie owners to showcase their dog’s talents and provide them with the chance to earn the recognition they deserve.
View a full list of AKC Titles & Abbreviations.
Conformation
Participating in a Conformation Dog Show provides an opportunity to showcase your dog’s genetic potential, boost their self-assurance, and demonstrate your proficiency in dog breeding. We encourage you to consider this option as it can prove to be a rewarding experience.
Agility
Agility trials are exciting competitions where a skilled handler guides their dog through a course with various obstacles. The course tests the dog’s agility and intelligence while requiring great communication and anticipation between the dog and handler. Participating in these trials strengthens the bond between you and your dog, keeps them healthy, and mentally stimulated while showcasing their skills. It takes dedication, patience, and knowledge to train for these events and achieve expertise.
Obedience
Basic obedience training instills good manners and desirable behavior in your dog, ensuring they become a valued family member and respected by the community. Training provides the necessary skills for understanding commands, leading to a healthier relationship. It’s a critical step in maintaining a well-behaved and enjoyable canine companion.
Rally
Rally, a sport that has gained incredible popularity over the years, is a fantastic event that will keep audiences captivated. It is a high-energy and fast-paced activity that combines essential elements of agility, obedience, and teamwork to create an engaging and immersive experience for everyone involved. Rally tests the skills and abilities of both dog and handler, requiring them to work together in perfect sync to navigate a series of obstacles designed to test their coordination, agility, and responsiveness to commands. It is a sport that demands a great deal of focus, determination, and skill from everyone involved, making it a truly unique and exciting experience.
Scent Work
Scent Work is a thrilling sport that celebrates dogs’ love of sniffing. The game challenges dogs and handlers to find hidden target odors. Dogs’ remarkable sense of smell makes this sport possible, and handlers depend on their canine companions to succeed. The game involves hiding cotton swabs drenched in essential oils, such as Birch, Anise, Clove, and Cypress, for the dog to locate using their sense of smell.
The handler follows the dog’s lead, and together they find the hidden scent and communicate it to the judge. Scent Work is based on the skills of professional detection dogs, making it a rewarding and exciting game that strengthens the bond between the handler and their furry friend.
Herding
The Sheltie breed offers commendable assistance to farmers with their remarkable intelligence and innate instincts. Their adeptness in managing livestock by gathering cows and keeping sheep together highlights their usefulness in performing farm work. Given their compact size and agility, they are up to the task of navigating diverse terrains and overcoming obstacles with ease. The Sheltie’s highly developed herding skills make them an ideal asset in ensuring the smooth running of daily farm operations..
Fast CAT
Fast CAT® – which stands for Coursing Ability Test – is a timed 100-yard dash where dogs run one at a time, chasing a lure. It’s over before you know it — and it’s nothing short of awe-inspiring to watch your dog run at top speed, ears back, eyes focused, legs strong.
Barn Hunt
“Rat catchers” have been an essential part of maintaining a vermin-free environment on farms, and over time it has become the foundation for the unique and exciting sport of Barn Hunt. This sport involves dogs and their handlers working together to locate and mark rats hidden amongst a straw or hay bale maze. It’s a thrilling activity that tests a dog’s sense of smell and agility, and a handler’s ability to communicate and work in tandem with their furry friend. This sport is not only a fun and entertaining way to keep rats in check but also a great way to bond with your dog, hone their natural instincts, and improve your own handling skills.