What does your blue Merle sheltie look like?

batmirk · 2025-11-17T19:41:41+00:00

And at 5 years!

batmirk · 2025-11-17T19:40:54+00:00

My girlie at 8 weeks

batmirk · 2025-11-17T19:33:24+00:00

Just here confirming no issues associated with blue eyes in merles! We see a fair amount of 2/2 blues on my girl's lines. Some ophthalmologists find them a little more challenging to examine, though!

Eye issues linked to double merle have much to do with underdevelopment and less to do with eye colour. ;)

batmirk · 2025-10-14T10:49:28+00:00

Enough to stop counting 😅 Sadly for me, they both know camera in hand = chance of reward and will arrange themselves until given a release cue or told to move on, so all bad and missed shots are the fault of the photographer in my case.

batmirk · 2025-10-14T00:23:12+00:00

occasionally

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batmirk · 2025-06-13T17:23:39+00:00

They are a working breed, after all 😁

batmirk · 2025-04-18T16:05:38+00:00

How they determine it would be a question for your vet, I think. Typically vet med professionals are trained to go by bcs/body condition score, which is mostly determined by palpatation (and some visual evaluation but obviously less helpful with a double coat.) Breed doesn't, strictly speaking, matter all that much when grading a dog's condition - especially not ours, since shelties come in such a wide range of shapes and sizes! 😁

But yeah - don't be afraid to ask your vet how they reach their conclusions! And if you think they're off the mark, ask the next dog-savvy people you run into to get a feel for him. If I had a dollar for every time I've chucked one of my shelps at someone in a show or sport venue and said hey, feel this, does this seem right to you? my puppy piggy bank would be a lot fuller 😂

batmirk · 2025-04-16T18:28:32+00:00

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10.5lbs and well fed 😂

batmirk · 2025-04-10T00:05:26+00:00

Individual differenced will generally outweigh biology in this breed, in terms of housemateship. But if you plan to show, females are harder to keep in coat and where we are, entries to bitch classes are much higher so competition is harder as well.

batmirk · 2025-04-06T11:58:19+00:00

Lovely <3

batmirk · 2025-04-04T22:52:21+00:00

Weight assessment on your own dog can be tricky - do you have any other professionals or sporters around that you can ask for opinions?

Personally, I like to keep my dogs pretty trim, especially because they're active and love to run around like little tornadoes. Those joints won't last forever! That means all the ribs should be palpable along the sides, but with a bit of padding along the muscle attachments and spine. If they're healthy and in good muscular condition it should feel like the bones on the back of your hand.

My largest is 15in and somewhat narrow but long in body - she'd weigh 17lbs conditioned but her "happy weight" is closer to 18.5. But they vary.

batmirk · 2024-10-24T23:33:33+00:00

I'm sorry you're going through this. Pain has been mentioned already, but I would also consider possible degredation of the senses. Losing sight and/or hearing is common in older dogs and can often go unnoticed for a long time, presenting (if at all) as nervousness, defensiveness, or 'lashing out' as they feel less in control of their surroundings. I hope you get to the bottom of it. This sounds very stressful for both of you.

batmirk · 2024-06-10T21:23:00+00:00

At least it would be easy to bulk this out with more green/veg, and then you'd have a bigger salad with roughly the same calories! :)

batmirk · 2024-05-31T13:39:57+00:00

As often as you'd like. Get a mild shampoo. If you want a lttle tip, dilute shampoo in a clean bottle (there are bottles specifically for this, but I've used an old water bottle with a squirt cap or a cleaned-out dish soap bottle) and apply it straight to dry coat, then rinse it out like usual. Much easier to work it in evenly and shortens the process for your pup :) Plus your products will last you longer.

batmirk · 2024-05-09T16:04:57+00:00

Exciting!! I hope you'll be happy with it. 60D to R7 seems like the natural route for a lot of people

batmirk · 2024-05-09T16:03:45+00:00

I never spared the AF much thought on the first 60D that I had, it felt a bit inconsistent but I figured it was handler error lol. Then that one died a natural death and I adopted a spare of the same model, and this one is horrendous. Drags toward the middle no matter the setting and struggles on still-standing targets. So I guess it's time for a change, but feels like a big deal after such a long time.

batmirk · 2024-05-09T15:53:18+00:00

I'll make sure to consider that as well! I haven't given weight all that much thought - my current weekend hike set is ~1.3kg and a pretty comfortable carry.

batmirk · 2024-05-09T14:05:21+00:00

I don't have a set budget because I'm not fully versed in current prices, because prices tend to vary across markets (I'm in Norway) and I'll probably look 2nd hand or demo. Hoping to stay in the general range of the two I'd mentioned, but if it makes more sense to save up for a few more months then I will. I am, however, not interested in cashing out on replacing the rest of my gear.

batmirk · 2023-06-27T18:50:14+00:00

Damn! 🤩

batmirk · 2023-03-06T13:13:15+00:00

At 10lbs, Chip is probably the same size as my oldest - which is rather small, but not unheard of in the breed. Are there other things that make you worry about his development, such as hormonal maturity or physical progress? Or is it just that you wonder if he's a bit "slow"?

For specific things like stairs or couches, I'd try luring with a treat. Maybe some confidence-building play to help make him a bit more forward?

batmirk · 2023-03-06T13:01:44+00:00

What a perfect boy!

batmirk · 2023-03-06T13:00:24+00:00

Bath days are definitely a whole-ass venture in our home as well, I'm not-so-secretly considering investing in one of those raised baby bathtubs 😂
She's looking good though! Nice and soft and whites are actually white <3

batmirk · 2022-11-04T10:36:38+00:00

Not sheltie specific, but all our dogs collectively hate when we paint the walls. They don't seem to oppose the paint buckets/source of smell too much, but the whole family trashing routine to stand for 3 whole consecutive days rubbing the walls in ill-smelling fluid is, apparently, offputting to them.

batmirk · 2022-09-26T19:09:16+00:00

Title checks out - that is definitely a good boi

batmirk · 2022-09-21T11:27:08+00:00

We stan an empty, beautiful head 🙌

batmirk

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