We have three Shetland Sheepdogs (Shelties) in our pack. A little over a year ago, we also added a tri-color Collie to the mix. His name, in case you're new to this site, is Dougie. He's proven to be a great addition to our family: kind, lovable and very importantly never wanted to userp Declan as the alpha dog of the pack.

Dougie is large-about 70 lbs. We have to watch when he wants play with the smaller Shelties "cause he'll "club" them with his tree trunk legs. We're usually around when he's doing this so no harm done. In fact, all the dogs get along well together-they're literally one big happy family.

One funny thing happened in the Fall when we went to a Sheltie show. Nothing but Shelties were featured that day, but we brought Dougie along with us...as we always do when goin' to one of these events. He was larger than the other dogs, of course, but never for a moment felt out of place. He's always been gigantic compared to the other dogs in his pack so everything was normal to him. I don't know what he'd do if he met other dogs his own size. In his own mind all is right with the world but everybody else probably looks at him & wonders why such a big Shelties is cavorting with normal-sized ones. He's the imitation Sheltie!

Here's a picture the semi-famous Presto Dog photographer took of Dougie, our lovable "Big Boy," on a dog agility table I built a couple of years ago:

Dougie-Not a Sheltie