5 year old Sheltie does not bark

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yourstruly06

Forums Novice
Hi all,

I recently got a 5 year old Sheltie from someone who was moving and needed to get rid of him in a week or she was going to send him to the pound. Obviously, I could not let this happen, so I went to meet him and brought him home that same day. The poor dog is incredibly afraid of EVERYTHING and has barked literally only ONE time since I got him in the very beginning of January. I know Shelties can be timid dogs (I've had Shelties before so I am familiar with them) but this, to me, seems very strange. His not barking also means that since he cannot communicate to me when he wants to go out, he does have accidents quite a bit in the middle of the night. I'd be fine dealing with that (Although it would be nice if I teach him to tell me) but I feel so bad for him because he jumps at every little noise, hides in tiny spaces, or turns around in tiny circles almost all the time (I think he was probably in a crate, and alone most of his life). Does anyone have any advice on how I can help him not be so afraid? I never raise my voice at him, am always kind, etc..but I'm not sure what else to do. Also, is it bad that he does not bark at all?
 
Time and patience will probably help. I'm not sure there's anything you can do in the short term, but give him lots of love, don't do anything to frighten him, and let him explore things at his own pace, with you there to show by example that there's nothing to be afraid of.
 
I got a sheltie from rescue- she was about 5 then. she did not bark for a very long time after I got her. I also wondered about how she would let me know when she needed in or out. I got her to be a companion for another rescue- a beagle mix. She went in and out when he did and that seemed to work.
She was also afraid of lots of things- especially loud noises like thunder.
She also would spin in circles- sometimes when she was scared but also when she was excited.
it took time, patience and letting her do things in her own time but she eventually learned things (including how to bark), got her CGC and Rally Novice title and was a sweet girl who led to me getting more shelties:winkgrin:
 
My sweet Beau didn't bark for nearly five months. but, then again, he had a bad bout of kennel cough and was completely shut down.

He now has a very healthy bark. In fact, he barked this morning at 4 a.m. when my upstairs neighbor came home and slammed the door. He was none to pleased about that( neither was I for that matter)

Maybe, your new babe needs to settle in and get comfortable before he can get his bark back
 
Olive was a little less than one when we got her and it took until she around a year and a half to come into her bark (now she yodels at the neighbors :rolleyes2:) I agree with the others, give him time to relax, or he may just not be a barker.
 
I have a 5 year old that is going on the 5th week we have had him. He has not had one accident here at all. He too didnt bark I did not know if he had a voice or not. Someone knocked on the door and he barked. He barks only when someone is on our property and usually once or twice. If I say ok quiet he stops. He too stayed in a corner but I just kept taking him outside every 2 hours at first. We went on 2 to 3 walks a day around our development, which takes about 30 minutes to without stopping but about an hour with stopping to smell and meet people so he never had a chance to not go potty if he needed. I think it took him a couple days till he finally went number 2. I know how your feeling, I was watching everything he did and noticing all the trembles, panting, where he layed, how he layed etc. Now he has the formal living and dining room and entry way as his space with his own rug, kennel and bowls. The cats have the bedrooms and family room and kitchen. Were learning to work slowly on blending the household but he is so much loved we dont know how we lived without him. He is the prince in our home and I don't even want to go anywhere without him. Were suppose to go on a mini vacation and I don't want to leave without him, I rather stay with my baby boy. Give it time someone told me and in this tiny time frame he is wonderful and I wouldnt change a hair on his head.
 
Ahhh all your posts encourage me a ton! He is not afraid of me anymore, which makes me happy, and I don't need to use a leash when I take him out anymore (we have a fenced in yard, so he doesn't have to have a leash anyway, but he used to climb under the fence if he wasn't on a leash) - he stays right by my side all of the time and never runs even when there are cars, people, loud noises etc...he starts to shake and gets scared, but outside he doesn't hide when he is afraid. He also seems to get along well with other dogs. One thing that I was reading is that Shelties can become depressed if they are separated from their owner; I was told that the actually owner of the dog died of cancer a few months before I got him (I'm not sure how attached the dog was to his owner, or even if the story was the truth though because the dog did not respond to the owners wife even a tiny bit when she talked to him, seemed afraid of her, and didn't respond in the least when she called his name..but maybe it is true..I just don't know) and I'm wondering, if that is true, could his fears and quietness be due to missing his owner along with the new home? I do think there had to be some abuse because he jumps if i even pick up my hand to put my jacket on..but maybe he was attached to his owner anyway?

Anyway, thank you all for your posts so far! I'm so glad to know there is reason to hope that Lucky will be a happy, playful, dog sometime in the future =). I'm definitely willing to wait as long as it takes =).
 
Sounds like you're on the right track with your new Sheltie. I would get him evaluated by a certified behaviorist and have him thoroughly checked over by a vet to rule out a UTI or other issues that might be making him pee in the middle of the night.

We have four Shelties. One is a female blue merle that we got as a pup and she is very reactive and scares easily. I got her through obedience and started doing agility with her and it has helped - not 100%, but I see improvement in her confidence when we go places now and are around a lot of people and noises.

I hope everything turns out okay. You're a dear for adopting this little fur baby.
 
Teach him the bell method for potty breaks if you want a warning system.

Hang bells from a door he can get to that are low enough for him to ring.

Start off by ringing the bells yourself before you take him out to potty.

Then start trying to get him to ring or at least touch the bells with his nose after you ring them.

He should pick up pretty fast that ringing means potty and will start ringing them on his own to signal you. You need to be quick to answer this warning when you first hear it.
 
I taught Dickens the bell trick without even making him touch them. I simply jingled them whenever he went out, and he caught on all by himself. Now the downside is that he'll end up ringing the bells any time he wants to go out, whether he needs a potty break or not, and it can get to be annoying. But I've found it to be very practical. It was also funny when he was a couple of months younger and would ring the bells to get away from me when I was going to scold him.
 
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