Behind The Scenes at Sheltie Planet

Hi, I'm Becky. I'm the gal behind Sheltie Planet and the proud owner of two gorgeous Shetland Sheepdogs. I live in New Zealand with my partner Pete and our son Fox.

Here's a short video of our wee Sheltie boys, Howard and Piper, during their first year together. Warning: it's pretty damn cute!

Download The Music! "Shelties" by Casale

How I Discovered Shetland Sheepdogs

In 2007, I emigrated from the UK to New Zealand. Pete and I set up our own work-at-home business. I was freelance writing while he was ran his own website design company. We soon realized we were pretty close to living the dream. There was just one thing missing... Something cute, fluffy and full of affection. A puppy!

At 6'7", Pete loves all things large and wanted a really BIG dog. But I had something much smaller and fluffier in mind...

In the end we decided we both liked Border Collies. But our landlord would only allow us to keep a small breed of dog. So, guess what happened?

We discovered the The Shetland Sheepdog!

Our First Sheltie Puppy

Having set our hearts on a Sheltie, it was very difficult to find one to adopt. They are not too common in New Zealand and there were none at the rescue center.

After a lot of searching, I finally found a breeder called Shelton Kennels in south Auckland. I called up to see if they had any litters on the cards. Amazingly, they had an 8-week old male ready to go home that week! The problem was, he had already been promised to another lady. It looked like we wouldn't get a Sheltie after all...

Then a few days later, Shelton Kennels called us to say that the other lady had decided she wasn't ready for a puppy yet and wanted to wait for the next litter.

They said "Toes" was ours if we still wanted him!

Our first Sheltie puppy

This is our first Sheltie puppy on the day we took him home. The breeder temporarily named him Toes because he had cute little white socks on each paw.

Later that day we decided to give him the somewhat modest name of Howard Woofington Moon.

Puppy Days

Howard didn't leave my side for the next few days. As he settled in, he grew very curious in nature - trotting around the house, finding lemon trees in the garden, meeting lots of new people who wanted to see our fluffy little Sheltie puppy.

Puppy Howard was cautious at first

Howard was lavished with attention by all. Even when he was pooping on the carpet or whining for attention at 5am, he could do no wrong.

Soon we took Howard for walks every day along the beach by our house. Even as a tiny puppy, he loved to meet other dogs, and would never hesitate to run up to strangers to say hello. This was definitely not the "shy Sheltie" I had expected!

Howard at 4 months old

Howard Gets Bigger

Our Sheltie puppy quickly grew up into a very confident Sheltie dog. Howard is about to turn 4 years old (Sept 2012). But I still think of him as a puppy.

He loves to chew anything he can get his paws on - newspapers, TV remotes, cell phones, socks (ESPECIALLY socks), underpants, pens, towels...

And life just wouldn't be the same if we didn't come home from time to time finding an entire toilet roll unraveled in the living room.

Howard contently watching the sunset from our balcony

Since the inception of Sheltie Planet, Howard has accumulated quite a few fans around the world. So here are some Howard facts for his doting fan base:

Full Name: Howard Woofington Moon
Namesake: He is named after Howard Moon of The Mighty Boosh
Nick Names: Sausage, Scattertail, Lovelington Moon and Flufflesberry Hound
Born: September 2008 at Shelton Kennels, Papakura
Height: 15 inches
Weight: 18 pounds
Pedigree: You can view Howard's Sheltie pedigree papers online
Known Commands: here, sit, lay, rollover, crawl, high five, shake, no bark, where's your sock, in, jump, down, back, outside, fetch, drop, this way, dinner, walkies
Other Tid Bits: He has his own Facebook page with his latest photos

Here's another Sheltie montage set to a beautiful song made by Pete. It features cute video clips of Howard as a puppy - and then introduces our next Sheltie, Piper!

Download The Music! "Sleeper" by Casale

Our Second Sheltie Puppy

When Howard was about nine months old, I emailed the breeder with some pictures and an update. I mentioned that we would love to have another Sheltie one day. I didn't expect her to call five minutes later and offer us Howard's brother!

They had originally kept Piper to be a show dog, but the poor little mite simply wasn't confident enough. He was afraid of strangers and very hand shy (not unusual in Shelties). But while he was afraid of new people, he was very confident and playful with other dogs thanks to his wonderful Sheltie kennel mates.

So the breeder was looking to re-home him - and who better to live with than his own brother? She explained that Howard and Piper both have the same father, Hillswick Storm Trooper, and different mothers, whelped three weeks apart.

We mulled it over but deep down we already knew the answer. Of course we would have him! Howard was an amazing dog and neither of us could resist the idea of adopting his brother too. So Howard, Peter and I made the long drive to meet Piper.

For some reason the name made me imagine him exactly like Howard but wearing denim dungarees and an old-fashioned train driver's hat. Now that's an image!

Howard's brother, Piper

Meeting Piper

The moment I laid eyes on Piper I realized he was completely different to Howard. He caught sight of us and immediately crouched into a tiny little ball like a hedgehog.

Howard, on the other hand, was busy urinating on his breeder's foot! He had never done anything like that before. Well done, Howard.

We introduced the two boys to each other and there were no signs of aggression - they were just a little curious of each other. We also said hello to their dad, Storm, who looks like the spitting image of Howard; a very handsome dog indeed. It was such a treat to meet all those Shelties at the kennel that day.

The journey home was pretty scary for Piper, who had no idea what was going on. Looking back, it was the most nervous I have ever seen him. Not only was it a long drive but he must have thought we were kidnapping him! He also threw up twice :(

That was in June 2009, and Piper soon settled in to his new home. He looks so confident these days compared to that first day when his whole world changed.

Piper demands LOTS of affection, which is handy because we are affectionate humans. Sometimes you just need to look in his direction and he'll sit up, ears pricked, tail wagging, waiting for your attention.

Piper licking his lips!

Together, they excel at teamwork. Piper uses his nose to open underwear and sock drawers, and Howard uses his cunning to displace the contents around the house.

It's not unusual for visitors to see Howard proudly trotting into the living room with my underpants in his mouth! I'm sure this is quite normal for Sheltie owners.

Here are a few more facts about Piper:

Full Name: Piper Woofington Moon
Nick Names: Mushroom, Fruitbat, Peep, Pipesicle and Pippington Moon
Born: September 2008 at Shelton Kennels, Papakura
Height: 14.5 inches
Weight: 16 pounds
Pedigree: You can view Piper's Sheltie pedigree papers online
Known Commands: here, sit, high five, shake, no bark, woof, in, jump, down, back, outside, this way, dinner, walkies, sing
Other Tid Bits: Everyone thinks Piper is a female Sheltie when they first meet him - but Piper is a manly man's dog and that's that!

Piper (left) and Howard (right) at one year old

Why Sheltie Planet?

I made this website for two reasons.

1. I am in love with Shelties.

2. Writing a website enables me to be free of the rat race and own my career.

In fact, I can't think of a better way to earn a living than writing about my passions... I've been doing this for four years and Shelties actually help pay the bills!

The story of how I quit my job and started Sheltie Planet belongs on another page of its own. To learn more, see my article How to Build an Income Generating Website on Your Hobby or Passion.

Follow Sheltie Planet

Finally, if you would like to join our community, we have several ways to interact:

Sheltie Planet Forums - In 2011 we set up our very own dedicated Sheltie forums. Registration is free and you can talk woofy to your heart's content.
Sheltie Planet on Facebook - We have an adorable Facebook Page with 9,000+ Sheltie fans sharing gorgeous new photos every day.
Twitter @SheltiePlanet - I Tweet every new article posted to Sheltie Planet, so if you want to know about new content, follow me on Twitter.
Sheltie Planet RSS Feed - RSS is another way of getting notified (by email if you like) every time I publish a new article about Shelties.

Thanks for getting to know the people and the pooches behind Sheltie Planet! Have a great day - and give your Shelties a special hug from us ;)

Best wishes

Becky, Pete, Howard and Piper

Sheltie Paw Prints