Although the Shetland Sheepdog is relatively free from major health problems, you should be aware of a few issues.

Shelties can be affected by the hereditary eye problems CEA & PRA. A paper on the subject can be downloaded from our Downloads pages or click here

Hip Dysplasia has been know to affect some Shelties. A number of breeders are now getting their breeding stock hip scored.

Dermatomyositis (DM or FCD) is an extremely serious, but fortunately rare, skin disease which can affect Shelties. You can download a copy of a paper, originally given by Mrs Marion Withers at the Club's Annual General Meeting in 2004 and updated in January 2010, from our Downloads pages or click here. Please note that this paper contains photographs of some dogs affected by this condition, which some of you may find disturbing. Larger images of these photographs can be viewed from the Downloads pages or click here.

The ESSC is a member of the Pastoral Breeds Health Foundation which is actively fundraising & promoting research into health issues and promoting health testing of Pastoral Breeds. Their website has a lot of useful information which you can find here.