Does this seem normal??

[Maida]

Dear Jess, THANK YOU for making me laugh today! Still smiling half an hour later.

Abby's Dad, Do you have just Abby now? All of my little girls have been older than Abby when I got them from rescues, but they have all preferred to have a lot of quiet time. All of my boys, on the other hand, have always been more wired and ready to play, play, and play some more! I have always thought it is just the difference between girls and boys. The girls are calmer and more willing to lie on my lap than the boys, who, the minute they hear something, anything, anywhere, are gone to investigate and then it's playtime again. I currently have two boys, and I am missing a little girl in my life. I bet if you had a little boy too he would be all over her to play. Give her a big hug from me, okay?

Maida, mom to sweet Christopher and Ritchie, and my eight wonderful Sheltie Angels

[Danny's mommy]

How are her thyroid levels?

[Abby's Dad]

Originally Posted by Danny's mommy

How are her thyroid levels?

Here is Abby's test results from Dr. Dodds @ hemopet:


T4 - 2.21 on a scale of 1.40-3.50
Free T4 - 1.56 on a scale of 0.85-2.30
T3 - 19 on a scale of 30-70
Free T3 - 1.8 on a scale of 1.6-3.5

This is what she wrote:

Thyroid levels are normal overall although T3 could be higher. The low
T3 likely reflects a non-thyroidal issue.

[Lahree]

Her behavior sounds exactly like my 3 year old Ellie--with the exception that a walk is high-alert the whole way, lol.

[Jaynie]

My first Sheltie (who was an extremely small male) was extremely hyper until he was about 3 years old. Then, he would follow me around, and lie down where ever I was. I always thought this was because I took him to work with me, and trained him to lie down under my desk or in my inbox (told you he was small). He's also take advantage of being up on the desk to lie between my computer monitor and my keyboard. I wish I had pictures of that!
But maybe he had just settled down by this age.

I rescued Bela when she was about 5 years old. She's very laid back, and likes to lie down a lot, where ever I am. Unless it's near feeding time or treat time, she's pretty cool. But let food time come, and she's the barkiest barker ever. She gets it out of her system, then settles down to be her normal, couch potato self.

Could be your dog is just laid back. I wouldn't worry about it unless she has more physical or mental stuff going on.

[SheltieChe]

Originally Posted by Abby's Dad

There is no "play" for Abby. Its just excitement.

Providing your dog is healthy...
Do You play with Abby? Like honest to goodness hide and seek, chase me, fetch, tug, ball, find your kibble, bring me my shoe/ insert anything what you want to bring/ etc
Some dogs are more laid back and some more hyper by nature but if you not playing with your dog, try... it is fun!
Thing is dog are economical and if you are no fun, they are not going to bother
here is good article how to create motivational toys for your dog
http://www.clickerdogs.com/createamotivatingtoy.htm
you gotta be goofy though

[BarbV]

I think you have described Bacca!

Bacca is a mellow, laid-back Sheltie. He generally goes about life, la-de-da-de-da.

Its not that he doesn't have energy.....no dog can jump like Bacca can ....if chooses too....he just mostly chooses NOT do....too much bother!???

When he was younger he used to love to play, now, at only 4 years old, he has lost interest in toys. He just just wants to be a lap dog. But when its supper time.....he can leap 5 feet in the air!

He gets spurts of energy on walks but lags sometimes behind Indy, most times.

And yes, Bacca is hypothyroid. We were fortunate that he was diagnosed young (at less than 2 years old) and quite by accident. We weren't looking for it at the time. Most cases don't get diagnosed until they are much older, where in fact the condition has existed for many years.

I struggle with this issue all the time, and there are times that I want to take him OFF the meds because I sometimes think that the meds have turned him into a layabout.

And frankly, his latest prescription is about to run out, and I'm thinking about not renewing it for a few months to see if I can see a change. And then retesting him again.

All to say, if the thyroid counts are borderline, then I recommend minimum yearly testing. Even if you change nothing! Just so you monitor.


I'm sure my post has confused more than helped you. All to say there is nothing simple when it comes to dogs.

Just keep you options open and to rush into anything that will cost your big dollars.

I've been meaning to contact Dr. Dodds about Bacca for a longtime, I just haven't felt it urgent enough until recently. Others on the forum have had some success with her.

[Danny's mommy]

Danny played with toys and chased a ball until he was about three. Then that was the end of it. He does run along the seawall herding boats and jet skis or the birds in his space but that is about it.

[BarbV]

Weird, that's just like Bacca! He herds around the cottage as well, but only takes over hearding duty if Indy is otherwise engaged.

Gasp! Could it be that some Shelties just don't like to play??????

[Justicemom]

Originally Posted by BarbV

Weird, that's just like Bacca! He herds around the cottage as well, but only takes over hearding duty if Indy is otherwise engaged.

Gasp! Could it be that some Shelties just don't like to play??????

Birch's brother Leo is one of the most laid back shelties I have ever seen. He prefers to snuggle up to people and get love than play and run around with other dogs. I could see that in him since he was big enough to walk. He ALWAYS hung back from the crowd. It is the main reason I didn't take Leo because as beautiful as he is I could see he didn't have the natural drive I wanted in my puppy. For Rachel, he is perfect. Porter was the same type. Active but not necessarily driven. Porter loved a good nap. When Porter went oversize Rachel , asked me with I wanted to keep him for performance and I didn't because as much as I loved him he was too "lazy" for my purposes. He lives with a retired couple now and is in doggy heaven. Both boys were born this way and there is nothing wrong with them.

So I took the wild Giraffe boy Birch instead. Just like people Shelties have different personalties.