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Shetland Sheepdog

Shetland Sheepdog genetic profile from the CanVAS Atlas. 37 dogs in the Atlas, heterozygosity 0.27. Nearest relatives, trait loci frequencies, cohort distribution.

What the atlas says about Shetland Sheepdog

In the atlas, the Shetland Sheepdog clusters consistently as Shetland Sheepdog (100% of the 37 dogs here). At the trait loci, HMGA2 runs lower than average (0% here vs 56%); ADAMTS17 runs higher than the atlas average (96% here vs 54%). Dogs here sit in a relatively sparse region of the atlas, fewer close neighbors than typical.

Ranks 23 of 107 on the bottleneck severity scale, well into the upper quartile of population contraction. High breed predictability score (2.29), individual dogs of this breed reliably cluster together genetically.

Closest genetic neighbors in the atlas: Collie, Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Cardigan Welsh Corgi, Australian Shepherd, and Border Collie.

Median lifespan is 13.85 years, slightly longer than expected for the breed size (8.5 kg).

Genetic dimensions · CanVAS atlas

What the genome says about Shetland Sheepdog

Computed from the 14,478 research dogs in the Atlas. Methods: technical methodology.

Dogs in the Atlas
37Founders
25 from Hayward2016, 10 from Spatola, 1 from Shannon
Genetic diversity
0.27Tight
Mean heterozygosity across the breed. Ranks 23rd most genetically tight of 107 ranked breeds.
Cluster structure
Splits into two genetic sub-populations
Intra-breed RMS distance: 23.87 · likely working/show-line, regional, or kennel lineage split.
Nearest genetic relatives
  1. Collie17.89
  2. Pembroke Welsh Corgi34.37
  3. Cardigan Welsh Corgi38.91
  4. Australian Shepherd40.02
  5. Border Collie40.81
Top-10 PC corrected Euclidean. Lower = closer.
Trait genetics
Allele frequencies at named morphology loci

Frequency of the alternate allele in this breed at each locus's representative SNP. Methods + caveats in technical methodology.

Body size
IGF171%
HMGA20%
SMAD2100%
LCORL100%
STC293%
ADAMTS1796%
Leg length
FGF4·CFA1887%
FGF4·CFA1285%
Coat
RSPO245%
FGF587%
KRT71100%
MC1R100%
Ear set
MSRB398%
Skull shape
BMP378%
SMOC269%
Add your Shetland Sheepdog to the Atlas

You can add your Shetland Sheepdog right now at /add/ as a Charted star. Or, if you'd rather wait for DNA uploads, leave your email and we'll let you know the moment those open.

Last updated
Sources: CanVAS (Brundage 2026) · CanVAS dimensions data