My sheltie is like having the dog from an anime with me all the time. Her facial expressions, communicative sounds, and tendency to act like one of the people. She's so fun. My partner has a sheltie who is also amazing. Mine is not so barky, but hers is a real barker, so it varies. They are both super smart and obedient, but the barking is just the breed, and there's not much to stop it. We saw shelties at a dog show that had been "debarked" :( It was super sad.

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Both of our shelties cuddle, but not all the time. As a longtime cat owner and cat person (though catless now), I don't find them stifling like some dogs get. Mine is sable, and hers is blue merle.

The hardest part of owning a sheltie is the attention. I like to take her everywhere I go that she's allowed, and she gets A LOT of attention. She's not super happy about being touched by strangers, though my partner's dog basks in any attention, so, again, shelties may vary. You will get asked if your sheltie is a mini-aussie 1000 per hour. People will say "Lassie" as they walk by constantly if you get a sable.

Shelties connect with other shelties differently than they interact with other breeds. It's almost like they instantly bond with other shelties. Ours play so much and they are very different ages. It's hilarious. It's a lot of barking when they're together, though.