Hi from Delaware.

[Mignarda]

Originally Posted by Chris

Welcome! I fear that you will be in trouble when Dickens learns about SUBU!

Management is already having problems with him!

[Mignarda]

Here's a cute photo of Mama giving Dickens a tummy rub.

http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/...psaec994ac.jpg

Mama loves her little Dickens, but she's not too enamoured of what she calls his "long rat tail." Personally, I think it's cute, but either way, there's not much chance of its persisting in that state!

[lovemyshelties]

Welcome to SN and welcome Dickens!! He is adorable. We had a 37 lb tri-color Sheltie named Elvis. Loved him to bits. Our current Shelties are much smaller, ranging from 12 - 20 lbs.

I know exactly where you're located as my brother was stationed at Dover AFB years ago.

Thanks for sharing your video and hope to see more of Dickens as he grows.

[Mignarda]

Originally Posted by lovemyshelties

Welcome to SN and welcome Dickens!! He is adorable. We had a 37 lb tri-color Sheltie named Elvis. Loved him to bits. Our current Shelties are much smaller, ranging from 12 - 20 lbs.

I know exactly where you're located as my brother was stationed at Dover AFB years ago.

Thanks for sharing your video and hope to see more of Dickens as he grows.

The Sheltie has to be the cutest dog! And don't think men are immune to the effects of cuteness ... it's just the opposite! I think it's hard-wired into most species; a way of distinguishing vulnerable youth and inducing a more relenting attitude toward them. Whatever the case, the Sheltie is the cutest dog, bar none. But it also has the quality of actually looking like a member of the canine species; wolf-like, but thoroughly domesticated.

I don't object to a bigger Sheltie, since I've no intention of breeding them. Our last dog, Boo-Boo, was half-Sheltie, and he weighed just over 30 pounds (his normal weight, that is; he got a bit chunky later in life). That dog had all the Sheltie qualities, including the sensitivity and the intelligence. When we first got him our yard wasn't fenced, so I set up a "run" between two clothes poles. He'd invariably end up wrapped around the pole, but amazingly he could get himself completely unwrapped by going in the opposite direction. No one ever taught him this; just one day I saw him all wound up and looking very pitiable, so I made a circling motion with my hand, and he followed the motion about seven or eight times until he was free. From that time, he was able to do it at will. To me that's a sign of great sagacity in an animal: to be able to suppress the natural instincts and move away from an object in order to achieve the object.

When Boo-Boo died we thought we could find most of his qualities in a purebred Sheltie, and were lucky enough to find Dickens at a breeder's close to home. We certainly haven't been disappointed! In fact, we've remarked that perhaps he's the reincarnation of Boo-Boo, since they share so many traits. I'm not sure if Dickens is a genius dog, but there's no doubt he's very clever, if a bit stubborn.

One thing I've noticed about Dickens is his extreme sensitivity, especially to words of reprimand. I told him off the other day for sticking his nose into a grocery bag with a package of hamburger in it. Of course I immediately made it up to him, but two days later, when I brought in a couple more bags of groceries and laid them on the kitchen floor he immediately backed off, ran to the door, and jingled his bells to be let out. On another occasion when I was cooking and he was underfoot I waved my arms and "scooted" him out of the kitchen. Next day when cooking again, I told him in a very normal tone of voice that I was afraid I'd have to scoot him out, and when he heard the word "scoot" he promptly turned around and left. From that time, the word "scoot" is enough to make him toddle off and get out from underfoot!