​Both standards are looking for a small, long-haired working dog with symmetrical outlines which should be so symmetrical that no part appears out of proportion to whole. British standard wants a dog of great beauty, free from cloddiness and coarseness while American standard is looking for a sound, agile and sturdy dog. The word ”sturdy” makes a big difference alone in the two standards as it can be understood as ”strong” or ”powerful”, which the British standard does not mention in the general appearance. British standard mentions the importance of shapeliness of head and sweetness of expression, while American standard does not have any mention of the head at this part yet. American standard mentions the importance of masculinity and femininity between dogs and bitches.

Both standards are looking for medium sized eyes in almond shape, obliquely set in skull (American standards uses the word ”somewhat” in front of obliquely while British standard does not), dark in colour except in merles where one or both may be blue or blue flecked. There are no big differences between the two standards, just slightly different wording like ”almond shaped rims” in American standard while British standard does not mention rims at all.
 

Both standards want small ears with tips falling/breaking forwards which are thrown back in repose. British standard wants the ears to be moderately wide at base and ears placed fairlyclose together on top of the skull, while American standard wants them flexible and placed high. British standard mentions ears carried semi-erect while American standard is more detailed and wants the ears carried three-fourths erect. Interestingly, the American standard mentions in faults that the leather should not be too thick or too thin. There are no big differences between the ears either, but rather different use of wording (”placed fairly close together on top of skull” versus ”placed high” is somewhat different wording for the same meaning – ears should be placed high on top of the skull rather than far apart).

Both standards are looking for muscular neck of sufficient length to carry the head proudly. British standard wants the neck well arched while American standard only uses the word arched. In conclusion, the British standard wants a slightly more well arched neck than the American standard does, but the difference is not that big and it can – yet again – be interpreted differently depending on the reader.

Both standards want a deep chest reaching to point of elbow, well sprung ribs which taper at lower half to allow the free play of forelegs and shoulders, level back and croup that slopes gradually to rear. British standard also wants a graceful sweep over loins, while American standard wants a slight arch at the loins (a rather different way of wording for the same thing). British standard describes the importance of the length of body in this part as well, while American standard does not do it in this part yet. American standard mentions a strongly muscled back which is not mentioned in the British standard. American standard is again rather precise with listing the faults of the body.

Both standards want blades sloping outwards to accommodate desired spring of ribs, equidistant elbow from ground and withers, straight forelegs when viewed from front/all angles, muscular and clean with strong bone. British standard also mentions that the bone should not be heavy, while American standard does not have this detail. British standard wants a very well laid back shoulder, while American standard is more detailed explaining that the shoulder blades should slope at 45-degree angle forward and downward to the shoulder joints. British standard describes how upper arm and shoulder blade should be approximately equal in length, while American standard does not have this detail but only mentions how upper arm should join the shoulder blade at as nearly as possible a right angle. American standard wants very strong, sinewy and flexible pasterns while British standard wants strong and flexible pasterns. In conclusion, the forequarters are described in a rather different wording and with importance to different details between the standards.

Both standards are looking for a broad and muscular thigh, thigh bone set into pelvis at a right angle, distinctly angled stifle joint, clean cut and angular hock joint and straight hocks when viewed from behind. British standard describes how hock joint should be well let down with strong bone while American standard wants a sinewy hocks with good bone and strong ligamentation. American standard is more detailed explaining that the pelvis and thigh bone angle should correspond to the angle of the shoulder blade and upper arm, and explaining that the overall length of the stifle should be at least equal the length of thigh bone, and preferably should slightly exceed it. American standard is more detailed all over compared to the British standard when it comes to hindquarters.

Both standards want oval feet with toes fitting tightly/close together. British standard wants soles well padded, while American standard wants pads deep and tough, and nails hard and strong. American standard wants well arched toes while British standard wants toes arched. There are no big differences in this part of the standard, just slight differences in wording and more details in the American standard.

Both standards agree that the tail should never be kinked or curved forward over the level of back, while it can be slightly raised when moving. Both standards also look for a tail that is long enough to reach to at least the hock joint. British standard is looking for a low set tail with abundant hair and slight upward sweep. American standard is looking for a sufficiently long tail which can be carried straight down or in a slight upward curve. British standard is slightly more detailed wanting the low set tail with abundant hair and slight upward sweep, which are not mentioned in the American standard.

American standard goes very deeply in detail with the explanation of the correct movement. Both standards want a smooth movement with no stiffiness and with drive from hindquarters. Both standards describe the same faults which are highly undesirable, while American standard does list more faults than the British standard does. American standard describes how the correct movement is dependent upon correct angulation, musculation and ligamentation of the entire hindquarter, while the reach of stride of the foreleg is dependent upon correct angulation, musculation and ligamentation of the forequarters as well. The correct width of chest and construction of rib cage is also important for the correct movement. Both standards describe the movement as covering the maximum amount of ground but in slightly different words. American standard also goes in detail how the movement should look like when viewed from front. In conclusion, the standards are looking for the same type of smooth and lithe movement, but American standard goes much more deeply in detail to describe the correct movement as well as possible.

Both standards are looking for a double coat with the outer coat consisting of long, straight and harsh-textured hair, while undercoat being soft. American standard wants a furry and dense undercoat while British standard wants it short and close. Hair on face should be smooth according to both standards. British standard wants a very abundant mane and frill, while American standard is looking for an abundant mane and frill which is particularly impressive in males. Both standards want feathered forelegs and smooth hock joints. British standard is looking for hind legs which are profusely covered in hair, while American standard wants heavily covered hind legs. British standard says that the coat should fit the body and not dominate or detract from the outline of the dog, while American standard does not have any notes on the outline. Both standards list a smooth coat as a fault.

Both standards list the same acceptable colours for Sheltie: sable, tricolour, blue merle (with and without tan), black & white and black & tan. British standard describes in detail how the different colours should look like, while American standard goes more deeply into the faults and how the colours should not look like. British standard is very precise with the amount of acceptable white and where the white markings may appear, while American standard is not as precise but mentions that specimens with more than 50 percent white shall be severely penalised.

This part describes the proportions in the American standard, while the British standard described the proportions already in the subtitle ”Body”. The description is more detailed than the British standards description for proportions, but both standards do want a longer body than the height is. For size, British standard allows the dogs to be from 34.5 cms (13.5 ins) to 39.5 cms (15.5 ins) where the ideal being 37 cms (14.5 ins), and it allows the bitches to be 33 cms (13 ins) to 38 cms (15 ins) where the ideal being 35.5 cms (14 ins). American standard does not differentiate dogs and bitches, but only says that the Sheltie should stand between 13 to 16 ins (33.02 to 40.64 cms). This is a 1.1 cms or 0.5 ins difference at the higher end – meaning that the American standard allows Shelties to be slightly bigger than the British standard does. Both standards allow the lower end to be 33 cms (13 ins) (but for bitches only by the British standard, dogs are not allowed to be this small).

American standard describes faults in every subtitle above and goes in detail, while British/FCI standard only mentions in the end of the standard that ”any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.” British standard leaves a lot more to be interpreted by the reader of the standard, which means that a serious fault for someone else might only be a minor fault for someone else reading the exact same standard. Standards in general can be interpreted in different ways by different people which is problematic when breeding and judging dogs. American standard goes much more in detail explaining all the faults that are highly undesirable, having two things as disqualifications: heights below or above the desired size range, and brindle colour.

In general appearance, American standard is looking for a ”sound, agile and sturdy dog”. Sturdy generally means ”strongly and solidly built”. Mention of ”sturdy” is not found in the British standard, as it wants ”a dog of great beauty, free from cloddiness and coarseness”. This can mean that the American Shelties are generally more sturdily built, as sturdiness is what the standard is looking for. British standard mentions the importance of shapeliness of head and sweetness of expression, while American standard does not have any mention of the head at general appearance yet. This highlights the importance of the correct expression in the British standard.

In characteristics and temperament, the British standard lists more desired characteristics than the American standard does. Both standards do mention some of the same things as ”reserved towards strangers”, but British standard lists ”alert, gentle, intelligent, strong, active, affectionate and responsive to owner” when American standard lists ”intensely loyal, affectionate, responsive to owner”. This might lead to different kind of temperaments between these two types, but as dogs are individuals there will always be seen many different types of temperaments in both types.

In head, skull & mouth the American standard is more detailed when describing the jaws. ”Upper and lower lips must meet and fit smoothly together all the way around”, which does give an impression of a rather deep and strong underjaw – most likely stronger than what the British standard is looking for as they only mention ”jaws level, clean, strong with well-developed underjaw”. American standard mentions countours and chiseling of the head, the shape, set and use of ears, the placement, shape and color of the eyes combine to produce expression while British standard looks for the characteristic expression from perfect balance and combination of skull and foreface, shape, colour and placement of the eyes, correct position and carriage of ears. American standard is also looking for ”alert, gentle, intelligent and questioning” expression, which are not mentioned in the British standard. British standard is looking for an elegant head with no exaggerations. In conclusion, both standards do have a lot of the same in them when it comes to the head, but in the end the small differences make a big difference between the American and British shelties typical expressions.

In coat, American standard wants a furry and dense undercoat while British standard wants it short and close. British standard wants a very abundant mane and frill, while American standard is looking for an abundant mane and frill which is particularly impressive in males. This is already an important difference between the standards. British standard wants a very abundant mane and frill, while American standard is looking for an abundant mane and frill which is particularly impressive in males. British standard is looking for hind legs which are profusely covered in hair, while American standard wants heavily covered hind legs. British standard says that the coat should fit the body and not dominate or detract from the outline of the dog, while American standard does not have any notes on the outline. These words and way of wording can make a huge difference between these two standards and their ideal coats.

In size, the British standard has more strict rules for dogs and bitches while American standard does not differentiate them two. The two standards have the same lower end height – 33 cms or 13 ins. In the higher end, the maximum allowed size for dogs in British standard is 39.5 cms or 15.5 ins and in American standard for all genders it is 40.64 cms or 16 ins. This is a 1.1 cms or 0.5 ins difference at the higher end – the American standard allows Shelties to be slightly bigger than the British standard does.

Generally the American standard is way more in detail explaining rather precisely what kind of hind and rear angulation or overall correct movement is wanted from the ideal Sheltie. British standard is generally shorter in description, but both of the standards have several things that mean exactly or almost the same but are worded slightly differently. For example most of the head, skull, eyes, ears, neck, body, feet, tail and colour were close to each other in both standards.

I would like to thank Mathilde Blondeel for kindly letting me use her illustrations in this comparison.