225 Gunns Rd, Ellenboro, North Carolina 28040, United States
The original Shetland Sheepdog of true British Type
Toy and Mini Shelties
We raise the finest Toy or Mini Shelties available today!
We have developed a toy-size Sheltie breeding program with excellence in both quality, and ethical standards.
Our health and temperament guarantee is unmatched anywhere - Your dog's health and temperament are guaranteed, period!
Why Mini and Toy Shelties?
Our Toy Shelties are first and foremost our family members and pets.
Toy Shelties are fabulous family, farm and house dogs and everyone always goes wild over how perfect and easy our 'travel size' dogs are. Only because they are so tiny, are we able to have so many and take many of them with us everywhere we go.
Whether you prefer our Mini Shelties or our tiny Toy Shelties, you will adore your new companion as much as we do!
Although Toy Shelties or Shelties of UK type are not officially recognized by the AKC as a separate breed yet (all our dogs are registered as regular AKC Shetland Sheepdogs), we have chosen a this petite version of the sheltie to fit into our busy lifestyle of horses, kids and shows. Our dogs fit easily into your jacket to cuddle or bag to sneak into a hotel.
Charlotte on her multiple World Champion Skip holds Bella, while Tommy holds Julie, Frosty & Cassie.
How did our Shelties get so small?
The Toy-size Shelties we raise are, in fact, the original size Shelties were when the breed was developed in the Shetland Isles. Only when they were imported to the US in the 1930-1950's did their size increase. Americans thought they looked like tiny Collies, so to really stamp the breed, small Collies were bred with the imported dogs to solidify the type.
For our program we have focused on AKC Shetland Sheepdog lines with little or no Collie influence. By doing this, our Mini and Toy Shelties are super healthy and super hardy. They are actually raised and tested here on our farm. We don't choose runts or breed closely related dogs together. Health and temperament are our top priorities and we feel careful selection of the parents is the way to improve our quality with each generation.
We have partnered with several Toy Sheltie breeders with the same ethical standards we have, to work toward getting the Toy Shetland Sheepdog recognized by the AKC. Much time and hard work has and will go into this endeavor, but we feel there is a true desire (maybe even need) for this wonderful breed in this smaller (under 13", most 10-12") package. We encourage you, if you agree, to join The Toy Sheltie Club of America. We need your support!
Choosing the perfect parents for your next family member
We choose our breeding dogs first for health and temperament, then size, beauty and correctness.
We have picked our breeding shelties with great care. I have also chosen to 'outcross' our breeding dogs after having a very bad experience with a 'tightly line-bred' male, Timmy, I bought years ago. We believe the larger gene pool will produce hardier, healthier shelties for a longer and happier life.
Once we have chosen an excellent individual and had all its DNA testing completed, we send them for 30-60 days to our agility trainer to get basic obedience and agility training, and to get her assessment of their trainability and personality. Then we drag them around to every show, school, etc to see if they are the 'type' of dog we want to reproduce. If they are shy or not as trainable as we desire, we have them fixed and either keep as our pets, or place in appropriate homes.
If they prove worthy, we breed them and their puppies are raised inside with our other dogs, cats, horses, children and one husband to insure outgoing and brave individuals. We reevaluate our breeding pairs with each litter to make sure the match is just perfect. Client feedback is the way we decide on our matches.
AKC registered Toy Sheltie Precious, a Cassie/Frosty daughter.
We focus on raising the best companions and therapy dogs.
Toy-size breeds are bred primarily for companionship and MUST have temperament and personality as a top priority, second only to excellent health.
At Fox Point Farm we have chosen tiny Shelties of UK type to be our perfect partners! We take all of them everywhere we go! They sleep in, next to and under our bed each night! We are truly a family that enjoys one another.
Our shelties have all the qualities that make shelties special plus this great toy size! Shelties are undeniably beautiful, their beauty is only surpassed by the devotion they bestow upon 'their person' or 'their family'. I tease that nearly all of our shelties have an 'anti-theft device' deep within them. I think a stranger would be very hard pressed to grab and steal one of my dogs, but if I were to walk up they would rush to me and overwhelm me with their eyes and hearts.
The love a special dog can give is indescribable! Our tiny shelties could be the parents of your next 'perfect child'!
It is important to us that you completely enjoy your toy sheltie puppy and your toy sheltie puppy enjoys you too!
Toy sheltie size
People always ask me how little is a Mini or Toy Sheltie of UK type compared to a standard size Shel
This is Bella (above) 12" and 12lbs, with Blue at standard 15" 24 lb Sheltie.
I actually purchased Blue from a breeder who swore he was 11" and 11 lbs (he was 5 yrs when I bought him). You can imagine my shock when I arrived at the airport. The breeder refused to take him back, claiming he WAS the tiniest Sheltie they had ever had. When shown the pictures, they agreed maybe he was bigger than my dogs.
Although a sweet soul, Blue was not socialized well and ran in circles and was petrified of other people and our horses. He was also a product a breeding of a full brother and sister (they swore he had no closely related dogs in his pedigree). Fortunately a lovely family wrote to me and offered to adopt him, after a lengthy meeting (to make sure Blue was comfortable), they took him home and he has been a great addition to their family.
Please keep in mind that although parents are 'toy-size', we can have some 'teacup' (8-10" mature) size puppies, some 'toy' (10-12 1/2" mature) and some 'miniature' (12 1/2-13 1/2" mature) puppies in the same litter. We are charting weights to give you the best prediction of your puppy's mature size. We feel the diversity in the gene pool outweighs the benefit of 'tightly' breeding for size. Really closely bred dogs can retain positive traits of a line, such as size, but can also retain negative traits of that line too, such as recessive heart defects, thyroid abnormalities, hip problems and temperament issues. Although it is a common accepted practice, we will risk size variations over health issues. We do not breed close relatives together!
We also feed our shelties very well. I had an unbelievable experience and found out firsthand that breeders will withhold food from puppies to keep their size small. Our puppies (and adults) are fed as much as they desire with frequent small meals. Our adults get lots of exercise so we don't have a problem with weight (other than Cassie who is a bit chubby). Our weights are accurate and reasonable for you to expect. Our dogs are also fit and muscled, so if they spent their days on a couch, they might be a bit lighter as well. We NEVER withhold food from any of our dogs! Our dogs will mature to the proper size of their genes.
As I stated above, healthy puppies/dogs are our first priority, if they are tiny, that's a bonus!
AKC 12" Bella next to CKC 15.5" Blue
Toy shelties for sale
AKC Inspected and Certified
Fox Point Farm/Charlotte Cannon had an AKC Kennel Inspection in July 2017. It went beautifully and the inspector said, "our dogs were so well socialized, they don't know they are dogs." Our records were impeccable and he was completely impressed by the condition of our dogs and facility. It was a totally positive experience, and we passed with 100% in compliance.
Our puppies are raised to be amazing members of the family. Indoor homes only! We love our dogs, please return puppies at any time no questions asked. If you find or hear about any Sheltie in need, please contact us. We take all Sheltie rescues. They always have a home here.
Toy Shelties can be challenging to raise
Tiny shelties are very difficult to raise and when successfully done, still have very small litters. We love our dogs and will do our best to safely produce you a lovely healthy puppy in a timely manner.
Please be patient because we are fortunate to have many people interested in tiny shelties. We will fill your request as quickly as we can. Please remember they have small litters and we only have a few girls. But I promise the puppy you get from me will be raised with great care and love! Our vet is involved from the beginning through the day you pick up your puppy.
Prices
Prices range from $1750-4000 depending upon registration, sex, color and size. AKC Toy Shelties are usually $1850-4000; non-AKC are usually $1750-2000.
Premium Waiting List
For clients serious about getting a puppy from us, we do offer a Premium Waiting List. Find all the information here. Contact me with any questions you may have. CharlotteC68@icloud.com
Customers have questions, you have answers. Display the most frequently asked questions, so everybody benefits.
The Toy Sheltie Club of America
I am the current President of the Toy Sheltie Club of America. I am currently working with several other excellent Toy Sheltie breeders to get the Toy Sheltie recognized by the AKC. If you are interested in lending your support, let me know! We need more members and we need to develop a Stud Book of Toy Shelties meeting the Toy Sheltie Standard. We would love to include your tiny sheltie in this groundbreaking venture!
I strive to produce shelties 10" to 12" tall, 8 to 14 lbs as adults. Our shelties are structurally correct in a smaller size, the original UK Sheltie type. We do love a more refined pretty face than the larger show shelties of today.
We also have chosen our toy shelties with flash and color. Most of our pups are the popular shaded/tri-factored sable with white collars, legs and blazes, but we do have well marked tris, blue and sable merles and pure-for-sable puppies too.
A beautiful litter of sable AKC Toy Sheltie puppies, Chrystie/Bullet litter on our porch.