A truely odd puppy

no offense to any show breeders but I have seen few that either have too many dogs or professionally handle other people dogs to the degree that most of the time their dogs end up growing kennel dogs with no socialization, we are not even talking about house training.
Anyway breeder aside, I think some problem could be that you are coming from terrier background and shelties do not have nor suppose to have terrier temperament. Sheltie suppose to be reserved with strangers and take their time to warm up to strangers. Shelties are also known as velcro dogs.
Socialize daylights out of your pup, hand feed him every piece of the kibble, make sure every his toy/ play comes from you, spend lots of quality time with him apart from other dogs and see what happens in next couple weeks- that what I would be doing.
 
My breeder only shows her own dogs and only owns 3 dogs. My pups dam and 2 other show dogs.

He is well socialized. He is not very food motivated but more food than toy.

Most of all I think he is still coming out of his shell with us. He was very playful and loving today. So its a work in progress.

I do still prefer the terrier mindset but hope to learn to love the sheltie way. Of course who knows maybe growing up with two terriers will warp his mind lol.
 
And thanks for all the support everyone. We will see what he does in the next couple weeks.

He turned 12 weeks old on this past Sunday and we have had him for a week and a half.
 
Good to know he may just be setlting into his surroundings. He may just still be overwhelmed from such a big change in his life. A week and a half isn't long.

Some dogs come into a new home and own the place right away, and others need some time to relax. Sounds like he just needs time to find his place at your house.

Also, you can try different foods to see if there is one that he likes more than others. Some dogs work for really high value stuff (tuna treats, or liver, etc...) rather than other things.
 
Try little pieces of cheese or turkey hot dogs. They are high value treats. he might work for those. Some puppies also have sensitive stomachs, so when trying new treats, start out only using a few pieces and increase the amount every day.

12 weeks is still very young. He is still settling in and adjusting. He'll come around with some positive training and hand feeding his meals. Just give him some time and remember not to force anything on him.
 
I also have noticed that Che is starting get interested in his toys only now at 10 month. Before no toy would hold his interest for more than couple minutes. So it might be that your pup will need to be taught to play with toys, Sammy who is rescue of same age as Che would not retrieve or put anything in her mouth for all the tea in China. So I am working baby steps with clicker letting her touch object and lick it when peanut butter smeared on it... now that I think about it I need to find if she will retrieve any highly prized chewies and I can clicker command "take it" on it...
yeah, pups are work in progress...
 
I fourth the handfeeding! That helped me bond with Romeo alot and fast. You may want to just take your pup everywhere you can in your arms until he gets all his shots, to expose him to different environments. And then tether him to you so he follows you everywhere in the house. Find out what makes your puppy tick - how he likes to play, what he likes to play with, what treats he absolutely loves, etc. It may be a case of you being less interesting than everything around him, so you will have to change that!
 
First let me say, it sounds like Roscoe is very intelligent. And second let me say, that I am no "ME, human, me dominant; you, dog, you submissive" kind of a trainer and then also let me state that I am just an at home, watch your dog and try to think like them and see the world from their point of view kind of a person. I am my dog's caretaker and friend. All of this because I don't feel like I know you.......yet!:smile2:

Now to your questions:

Being a laid back sheltie is a GOOD thing. Never think that is a bad thing. Shelties can seriously be OCD about most things and one that is laid back is much easier to deal with in the long run. So I think you are ahead of the game there.

The leash problem MUST be solved. For you to care for you pup, as you know, they must walk and accept a leash for safety. We always start with the leash on them day one and them dragging it around to get use to the weight of it. If you haven't done this, start today! Then as the little guy gets more ok with it, pick it up and firmly insist he comes along with you. Some people hold a toy in their left hand that the dog loves or a treat. But gently and firmly insist. It is not an option for him to not walk on a leash. It is his safety. There are tons of tricks and tips on getting them to walk on a leash.

Next you said he stays out of reach when you call him. He is playing with you and pushing your buttons at the same time. IF he is allowed to get away with this "keep away" game of himself, he will continue. If he were mine to train, I would be back to 100% on leash (which yes I know he dislikes) but he would never have the option of not coming to you. Again for safety, recall is vitally important. He must come to you and he must touch you when he does come. I have taught "touch" at the end of a recall command. We do not use treats, but you are probably going to. Put a little tiny piece of hotdog between your middle finger and ring finger and let him remove it as a reward.

About being scared, shetlies are timid and are easily overwhelmed. My McKinley will still not go up my cellar stairs (he's a year). As far as getting out of the crate, don't get into a power struggle pulling him out of there, back to the recall and the the touch command and he will start coming out on his own.

And as far as bonding, first, I didn't catch the age and if he is fully housebroken, but if he is over 6 months and fully housebroken and he should be by that age, then let him sleep at the bottom of your bed. Shelties I think bond better when they sleep with you. If he jumps down in the middle of the night and I really wanted to bond with this pup, I would go and retrieve him and pull him back in bed with me. Shelties love to sleep with their backs up against things and their head hung over things and on "pillows." You will become what he sleeps up against and you will become what he rests his head on.

Train every day for at least 15 minutes and PLAY every day with him. If you want him to go nuts when you arrive home, be nuts when you come home, jump and run and bark at him when you walk through the door, trust me, if you bark at a sheltie to get him to bark, he WILL learn to bark and then you will be wondering why you started the barking game!

I am sorry this was long, but I just felt like you were disappointed in a breed that I absolutely adore. Shelties do care alot about their caretakers, but they take a while to warm up and that is because they are intelligent. They are a breed that you are going to have to win their love and respect, but it can be won and it such a blessing when it is won. Shelties are not for everyone. They have their goofy traits, but what I saw in your thread were all correctable.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Last edited:
Ok, 12 weeks is YOUNG!!!! and only home 2 1/2 weeks!!!

This puppy is so overwhelmed yet, lilrider.

These shelties of ours are super super smart. At this young age, his little brain is all over the place. Why am I here? Who are these people? What is this place? How do I fit in? Who is my caretaker? Where is my dam? Where are my litermates? Everyone smells funny? What's that noise?

A crate with a comfy blanket and maybe a blanket overtop, or in a closet with the door open of course, and LOTS of gentle voices and reassurances and massages and playing.

Don't allow misbehavior that are safety concerns, but other than that, let the little guy "think" through all he has to think through.

I love all breeds of dogs, but the more intelligent they are (and shelties rank way up there), the harder they are to understand for us humans.

SEE THE WORLD FROM HIS 6 INCHES OFF THE FLOOR!
 
I understand intelligent dogs. I have two terriers who are pretty smart. My rat terrier is amazingly smart, too smart for her own good. She knows about as many words as our friends 2 year old kid.

I think a big difference also is that I rescued both of our other dogs from shelters. They were young also, about 6 months both times. I think that after being in a shelter situation they both were just so happy to have a person of their own that I won them over immediatley.

This is my first full on puppy.

And he is already doing much better. We have figured out a treat he loves and will work for. And he already is pretty solid on the sit command. We are going to start working on the leash soon as it quits raining.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top