Adopted a sheltie - BITING feet?

[OntarioSheltie]

He really is a good dog but he certainly seems to to have been spoiled and allowed to do whatever he wanted by the previous owner.

the barking/going after my feet often happens in a combo. he was doing both, so i tried grabbing him by the neck scruff and telling him "no!". when i released him just he kept on barking furiously at me. it had no effect. next time he goes for the feet i'm going to try victoria stillwell's high pitched scream method (like, ow you hurt me!).

i am feeling at a loss with the barking AT me. wherever i am walking he gets to the side/front of me and barks incessantly at me. i can tell he wants my attention/wants to play w me. this is occurring outside mostly. ideally i would go inside and leave him out there for a few mins to "punish" him but i have a broken arm slowing me down and he is fast and low and sneaks in the door before me, especially since he always places himself in front/to the side of me. i have been trying to turn around and ignore him (doesn't work - he thinks it's a game). or i go to a lawn chair and sit down and ignore him. he does stop after a few secs when i sit and ignore him but it seems to have no lasting effect. the next time i get up it starts all over.

i know he needs to get out some energy/needs to play but he doesn't know how to play. he looks at a ball like its a foreign object - no interest. he will play a little tug or jump up for a rope toy but given the mouthing/nipping issues we're having i don't want to encourage this by playing tug or leap to get rope. i am going to try to train him to play fetch but right now its just walks because he isn't running off any energy outside.

thanks for listening . this dog seems quite willful. he does not seem as bad w my husband. i think maybe its because his former owner was a woman and a pushover?!

I'm not trying to be mean, but I think you're looking at this the wrong way considering he's a rescue dog.

This isn't a dog who's been spoiled, its a dog that has been neglected. He appears to have been completely ignored and was never taught which behaviors are right and wrong. Barking and herding are both natural sheltie behaviors and no one has taught him that its inappropriate for him to herd feet.

Barking for attention is also another sign that he's been ignored, negative attention is better than no attention at all. Its possible he was abandoned for the very behaviors he was never trained were unwanted.

Instead of assuming that he's 'willful,' you need to take him right back to basics as if he were an 8 week old puppy. Start right from scratch. I think you'll feel much less frustrated if you understand where the behavior is coming from.

Everyone's suggestions for discouraging the foot herding are great. As for barking, ignore it and turn your back on him. Start carrying around cookies. After barking, wait 3-5 seconds for him to be quiet and then turn around and give him praise and cookies for being quiet. He should learn that barking gets him ignored, being quiet gets him cookies.

You really want to consider a basic obedience class. A good trainer will be able to teach you how to over come all of the unwanted behaviors and it will help your sheltie bond with you and gain confidence in both you and himself.

Good luck!

 

[Lovely]

I second the idea of a group class. This will be great socialization for your dog, amazing bonding for the two of you, and help the both of you set boundaries for behavior. I'm sure there is a positive training school around you. At the very least, try PetSmart. It seems like they have somewhat of an agenda, but what they train (at least in my experience with an unfocused Papillon) is good and long-lasting. They only use positive techniques and introduced me to the clicker (my favorite training device).

I also have a rescue and while I haven't had the extent of problems you have, we have had some issues like barking (mostly reacting to Pierre's issue with barking) and potty things.

 

[erinann]

I'm not trying to be mean, but I think you're looking at this the wrong way considering he's a rescue dog.

This isn't a dog who's been spoiled, its a dog that has been neglected. He appears to have been completely ignored and was never taught which behaviors are right and wrong. Barking and herding are both natural sheltie behaviors and no one has taught him that its inappropriate for him to herd feet.

Barking for attention is also another sign that he's been ignored, negative attention is better than no attention at all. Its possible he was abandoned for the very behaviors he was never trained were unwanted.

Instead of assuming that he's 'willful,' you need to take him right back to basics as if he were an 8 week old puppy. Start right from scratch. I think you'll feel much less frustrated if you understand where the behavior is coming from.

Everyone's suggestions for discouraging the foot herding are great. As for barking, ignore it and turn your back on him. Start carrying around cookies. After barking, wait 3-5 seconds for him to be quiet and then turn around and give him praise and cookies for being quiet. He should learn that barking gets him ignored, being quiet gets him cookies.

You really want to consider a basic obedience class. A good trainer will be able to teach you how to over come all of the unwanted behaviors and it will help your sheltie bond with you and gain confidence in both you and himself.

Good luck!

i know you don't mean to be mean - i guess by spoiled i meant untrained/no boundaries. and by willful - well, my GSD/mutt is a very submissive dog, so this is a really different experience for me! i know its not his fault, he has had no boundaries! i am starting from scratch, with sit, down, etc. i like your advice on the barking and i will try it - thank you! i guess it comes more naturally to me to figure out how to get him to DO something, rather than to NOT do it - that seems a little tougher to conceptualize! i never needed to do obedience training with my other dog, but this guy probably could benefit from it. thanks again for your advice.

 

[SheltieGuy]

I agree with everyone's behavior ideas.... I do think it is important to get him to play fetch/ball or something to let him burn off some energy. This may be a reason why he is always in your face. I dont know how you teach a dog to play fetch. My pup just knew. People here know much more than me about training so I am sure someone can help.

I know when Snickers doesnt get his outside running around like a nut time; he bounces off the walls and is very annoying inside (pacing, scratching at the door, constantly under your feet). You can tell he needs to burn off some energy.

 

[Strider]

Be careful when rewarding him for not barking. You don't want him to learn that if he barks and then is quiet for a couple seconds he gets a treat. When he is just lieing next to you being quiet and calm give him a treat and tell him 'good quiet'. Any random time that he is giving you the behavior you want, reward him.

You should also be aware that as time passes and he becomes more and more comfortable in your home you might start seeing more behaviors pop up.

The idea of clicker training is great if he has been trained to the clicker. If he hasn't and you want to use it, there are some great threads about how to train with a clicker. The great thing about clicker training is that you can mark the exact moment he does something right. It helps the dog understand exactly what you are rewarding him for.