A WORKING SHEEPDOGThat's why a lot of Shelties are used in sports, like for example agility. Mieke Boode does something else with her Shetland Sheepdog..... After her heart-attack Mieke bought her first Sheltie, "Shadow" and it all started. During her breast cancer and chemo she had more time to spent with her Border Collie, Wicky, that she had bought also and started training with a shepherd and his flock of sheep in Haaksbergen. After her last chemo (Thursday) Shadow died (Saturday) and she was devastated, her buddy where everything started with was gone. She used the names Shadow and Wicky in her kennelname "Shadwick's Keek O Day". Keek O Day is Celtic for sunrise. 
After Shadow's death the need of a Sheltie wasn't gone and Mieke started looking for a Sheltie with herding instinct and she came to our island Terschelling. Ayla our sable bitch was mated and at our home she is the one with the most herding instinct, Ayla always herds our cat. That was for Mieke, who already had an few sheep of herself, very interesting. At the end of 1998 Ayla welped two sable puppies, a dog and..... for Mieke a bitch, "Cubie" (Acutie Decubie v.d. Noorder Gronden) 
Cubie started herding with two well-trained Border Collies, this and the introduction to
sheep at a young age made her a real working sheepdog. A twelve-hour working-day is to much
for a small Sheltie but she can fetch a flock of 100 (sometimes 450!) by herself, she can
keep the sheep on one side of a road and in spring she helps out in the stable with the ewe
and the lambs.
Her litter mate Duggan (Adashing Duggan v.d. Noorder Gronden), owned by Karin Zwankhuizen,
has visited Cubie and her sheep a few times and has proven to be talented too.
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