Shethund: Your Complete Guide
The Shetland sheepdog, better known as the sheltie, is a bright dog breed renowned for its agility and intelligence. They are top competitors in all dog sports, particularly those that require the utmost focus and athleticism.
The dachshund isn’t as athletic as the sheltie but has a lively and curious personality, making them great companions for many individuals and families.
Enter the shethund, the Shetland sheepdog and dachshund mixes, and you get a dog full of personality with an astonishing coat. Like their parents, they can be as obedient and affectionate as the Shetland sheepdog or as feisty and cheerful as the dachshund.
While the qualities of these designer breeds vary, there are general things you can expect shethunds to have. Our article will cover all these. Read to the end to know if the shethund is an ideal breed choice for you and your family.
Quick Look at the Shethund
Below is a quick look at the shethund’s traits in terms of their physical characteristics, lifespan, temperament, and grooming.
| Weight/Height | 10-25 pounds/8-15 inches |
| Coat Type | Short or medium-length straight/wiry coat |
| Grooming Needs |  |
| Shedding |  |
| Temperament | Lively, curious, affectionate, alert |
| Good With Kids | |
| Good With Other Animals |  |
| Intelligence | |
| Easy to Train | |
| Energy Level | |
| Barking Habits | |
| Lifespan | 12-15 years |
What Is the History of Shethunds?
The Shetland sheepdog is a small herding dog breed originating from the Shetland Islands of Scotland. These dogs descend from spitz-type dogs brought to the islands and crossed with working collies of the time. Shelties are one of the smallest herding breeds, but their utilization for such purposes decreased significantly over the years.
The dachshund, translating to badger dog in German, is a hunting dog breed that was utilized for hunting burrow-dwelling animals like badgers and rabbits in Germany. The elongated frame of the dachshund made the breed excellent for these tasks as they could dig and pull the game out of their holes easily.
Although it’s unknown when the mixes of these distinct breeds appeared, shethunds are not as common as other hybrid breeds like poodle mixes. Due to the rarity of this designer breed, you may have difficulties finding a trustworthy shethund breeder.
What Do Shethunds Look Like?
Shethunds, like the dachshund parent, have an elongated (long) body. They have short legs with a moderate chest depth that doesn’t look much like the Shetland sheepdog, especially with the lack of a prominent ruff. Due to the body type, it’s sometimes difficult to notice the sheltie in the shethunds.
As for the coat colors, these mixed dogs have a lot to offer. The coat can be black, brown, blue, cream, or white. It can be solid-colored or a mix of these. There are also blue merle shethunds, but these varieties are rare.
What Size Is a Shethund?
Shethunds are small or medium-sized dogs, depending on the dachshund parent. The offspring of a Shetland sheepdog and a standard dachshund tend to weigh around 15 to 25 pounds while standing no taller than 15 inches.
The puppies of Shetland sheepdogs bred with a miniature dachshund weigh between 10 and 20 pounds, with an average height of 8 to 12 inches.
Given the wide range in height and weight, asking questions about the dog’s parents during the adoption is essential. Otherwise, your shethund puppy may not grow as much as you’d like or get bigger than expected.
What Is a Shethund’s Coat Type and Length?
The coat type and length of the shethund vary greatly. Again, like size, the dachshund parent’s influence determines the coat type and texture. Since dachshunds have short and long-haired varieties, a shethund can have a long or medium-length coat.
Nevertheless, the texture of the shethund’s coat is typically straight or wiry, though it can be a bit wavy around the chest and neck. Under all this, there’s a soft undercoat that sheds moderately year-round.
What Is a Shethund’s Temperament?
Shethunds have an interesting character. There are many personality traits these dogs can inherit from both parents. They can be as headstrong and curious dogs that want to follow wherever their interest leads them like the dachshund or as eager to please and lovey-dovey as the sheltie.
For this reason, future shethund owners should be careful during puppy selection. Spending enough time with a shethund puppy to get a glimpse of their character is highly important to have a dog that suits your preferences.
Still, there are general things you can expect from the temperament of shethunds. Here’s a more detailed overview of the shethund’s temperament, focusing on family life, aggression, and barking habits.
Are Shethunds Good With Kids?
Shethunds can be good pets for families with kids. They get along well with children of all ages, particularly if a shethund grew up around one. The small size of these dogs also makes them ideal playmates for children.
However, shethunds aren’t the most tolerant dogs. If children get loud around a shethund and touch them in ways they shouldn’t, such as pulling on their tail, they can get agitated quickly. This can lead a shethund to exhibit aggression or avoid playing with children, as they can sometimes be sensitive like the Shetland sheepdog parent.
All in all, shethunds can get along well with kids, provided children in the family know how to interact with a dog. Proper socialization is also important to ensure shethunds become as tolerant of children’s rowdy behavior as possible.
Are Shethunds Good With Other Animals?
Shethunds are easy-going dogs that enjoy making friends. During walks, they aren’t likely to act up unexpectedly when interacting with friendly dogs. Shethunds do equally well with cats and similarly-sized dogs in the same family.
However, the herding instincts coming from the Shetland sheepdog parent may make them bump into small pets. This may also happen around young children, especially with bigger shethunds. Assuming other animals won’t take this nicely, their herding attempts may lead to conflict between your shethund and other pets.
Also, shethunds have a prey drive that may make them cause trouble around prey animals like hamsters and Guinea pigs. After all, this is what the dachshund was purposely bred for, and the sheltie isn’t so different.
Since you can’t put a break on their instincts, supervision is essential to ensure everyone gets along nicely with each other. If you have prey animals, keeping them away from a shethund in a separate part of the home is a must.
Are Shethunds Aggressive?
While the Shetland sheepdog parent is sweet-tempered, the dachshund in the shethund may overload them with too much bravery. This may make a shethund act bigger than their size and challenge other dogs and people.
On the flip side, shethunds may be quite the opposite and have a calm temperament like the sheltie. It ultimately comes down to which parent’s character a shethund puppy inherits.
Shethunds that are more like the dachshund parent may have a predisposition to be territorial and aggressive, but enough socialization prevents behavioral issues that may cause them to act aggressively. Others are friendly dogs that usually greet everyone with a wagging tail.
Do Shethunds Bark?
The sheep herding and hunting lineage of the shethund make this hybrid breed a vocal one. Shethunds bark frequently to communicate and express their feelings. For their size, they also have a loud bark that grabs attention.
Curbing excessive barking can be a challenge for shethund owners, especially if they are allowed this behavior at a young age. You can manage this by understanding why your shethund barks and creating a consistent routine to prevent excessive barking.
However, this requires a lot of training as it’s an inherent trait in shethunds. If you live in a noise-restricted apartment building or with others, the shethund may not be the best breed.
Are Shethunds Affectionate?
Shethunds are generally affectionate dogs. They can be like this towards everyone or latch onto one person in the family to call them their favorite human. These dogs aren’t bothered by people giving them attention.
While having a dog that bonds strongly with you is an excellent trait, some shethunds may take this too far and get separation anxiety when their favorite person isn’t around. If not managed, this can open the door for excessive barking, destructive behavior, and clinginess once their favorite person returns home.
If a shethund is acting this way towards one person from puppyhood, it should be managed by giving them enough time alone for parts of the day. During this time, avoiding attention no matter what tricks the shethund uses is essential to ensure they don’t develop separation anxiety.
Are Shethunds Intelligent?
Shethunds are highly intelligent dogs that are aware of everything around them. They can distinguish a friendly stranger from an intruder, for example. The herding and hunting ancestry also make these dogs extremely alert and curious by nature.
This intelligence requires a lot of mental stimulation to benefit their health and avoid behavioral issues. Otherwise, a shethund may not want to listen to their owner and act as if they know better.
While intelligent dogs like the shethund are typically easier to train, training them may require a lot of work – more on the shethund’s trainability below.
Are Shethunds Energetic?
Both the dachshund and the sheltie are high-energy breeds. As you can expect, shethunds are just as energetic dogs as their parents. These dogs require walks of at least an hour to stay fit and well-exercised.
Since both parents are also working breeds, they have high stamina, making them great companions for outdoor adventures like hiking and camping. Although shethunds aren’t as athletic as Shetland sheepdogs, Earthdog and small dog agility trials are great ways to keep them exercised sufficiently and healthy.
Are Shethunds Easy to Train?
Shethunds aren’t hard to train, but teaching these dogs what you want them to do isn’t a piece of cake either. The individual temperament of a shethund inherited from the parents typically determines whether they are easy to train.
The Shetland sheepdog and dachshund mixes are the easiest to train on a consistent training schedule with a persistent trainer that utilizes high-value rewards. While most shethunds take a tasty treat as the best reward, others may choose a quick game of thug over it.
Basic obedience training won’t be difficult once you know what a shethund likes. Considering their high prey drive, recall and leash manners are particularly important. Focusing on these early on will ensure your walks are always enjoyable. After basic training, you can start advanced commands or get into dog sports like agility and Rally.
Are Shethunds Good Watchdogs?
Frequent barking is often a double-edged sword. Due to their tendency to be vocal, shethunds make good watchdogs. If they spot someone strange entering the yard, whether human or animal, they will surely bark to let you know.
However, you shouldn’t expect them to guard your property. They are small dogs that won’t intimidate intruders. Alerting you of something suspicious is where a shethund’s job ends.
Are Shethunds Good Service Dogs?
Shethunds can become service dogs as long as the tasks you expect from them are appropriate for their size, such as psychiatric service animal work. However, training shethunds to keep their prey drive in check requires an experienced trainer and a lot of work.
For most shethunds, being a loving companion or an emotional support animal is a more fitting job. Shethunds that are more like the sheltie parent can also make great therapy dogs, especially for the elderly.
How to Care for a Shethund?
As mentioned above, shethunds have a high amount of exercise and mental stimulation needs. They also require proper socialization and training at an early age to prevent behavioral issues from developing.
While these are expected with any breed, there are some specifics of caring for a shethund. Here’s an overview of how to care for these dogs, focusing on grooming, health, and feeding.
Do You Need to Groom a Shethund?
Shethunds have average grooming needs. The frequency of taking these dogs to a groomer depends on the coat type. The longer-coated shethunds need haircuts every six to eight weeks, while others require only occasional trips to the groomer.
Whether medium or long-haired, the coat of the shethund needs brushing a few times a week to prevent matting and remove loose hair. Besides coat care, shethunds need regular nail trimming, ear cleaning, dental care, and bathing when needed. With all these, you can consider the shethund a medium-maintenance breed.
Do Shethunds Shed?
Shethunds shed moderately year-round and more in spring and fall due to seasonal changes. As a shethund’s undercoat prepares for the next season, you’ll need to brush them more often than other parts of the year to maintain shedding.
These dogs may be small, but overlooking brushing will leave a trail of dead hair everywhere they walk. During the intensified shedding period, using a deshedding tool and a bristle brush will help remove dead hair efficiently and keep your home free from pet hair.
What Health Problems Do Shethunds Have?
Shethunds are generally healthy, but there are a few health problems that these dogs are prone to develop. Some of these are:
- Hearing Problems
- Progressive Retinal Atrophy
- Cataracts
- Collie Eye Anomaly
- Dermatomyositis
- Intervertebral Disc Disease
Any shethund can inherit these canine diseases from their parents. It’s important to ask the breeder about the parents’ health to ensure your shethund puppy isn’t at risk of inheriting diseases. If the breeder is clueless, take it as a red flag and find another breeder.
How Long Do Shethunds Live?
Shethunds live between 12 and 15 years on average, which is pretty standard for dogs of this size.
What Should a Shethund Eat?
Most shethunds thrive eating high-quality commercial dog food, but it’s best to get your vet’s recommendation. They may guide you to what to feed your shethund to benefit their health.
As for the amount of food shethunds require, they should eat between three-quarters of a cup to one and a half cups of dog food per day, depending on their size and activity levels.
Is a Shethund the Right Dog for Me?
Despite their small size, shethunds are energetic dogs that require an active owner to take them out for daily walks and provide opportunities to put their intelligence to good use. They also need proper early socialization and training to curb potential behavioral issues that may arise from their high drive.
Provided these, shethunds make great pets for various individuals and families. They can thrive in pretty much all kinds of family settings, whether small or large. If you’re up for a little bit of challenge early on, a shethund will pay back by being an obedient and lively furry friend always by your side.