The tiny spots are ticking. Merle can come in small spots too but typically they are larger black patches with more irregularities to the size and shape.


And here is an cattle dog..

And shelties with smaller bits of merling..You can tell the difference between ticking and merling.


Looking now at her ear-set, her ears seem a bit low for a cattle/dog sheltie mix. I do believe there is cattle dog in there though..