I think my posting sounded a bit too negative which is not what I intended at all. So....the first Sheltie I had, a bi-black female named Ebony, was neither a nipper nor a barker. Sure, if she saw a squirrel or a flock of birds, she'd let them know she was there and was on her way to help them out of the area! She was not as profuse a shedder as Spencer is and, if I remember correctly since it's been a while, her grooming was a thorough brushing once or twice a week. Her coat was nowhere near as dense as Spencie's. Her herding instinct was reserved for her doggie friends who put up with it for a while and then "told" her enough was enough. Since I don't recall anything specific about how she related to kids and there were plenty of them around when I had her, her reaction must have been completely appropriate. At one point when I was away, she went to stay with my daughter who shared a house with five others. The worst thing Ebby did was convince each person that she had NOT been fed and so she often was fed more than she should have been which led to a serious diet when she came back home with me!! Oh boy, now I feel as though in my other posting I said Spencer isn't a good companion and he really is and he's sweet and I love him (and he barks too much).
Advice Quick!!
- Thread starter jmacgirl24
- Start date
BarbV
Forums Celebrity
I don't think your quote was negative at all. You are just telling it like it is.
The reality is some all pups may or may not conform to breed. Some do better, some don't.
I personally think we should not get too hung up on websites to help decide what breed you want. If I relied on the websites, I think I'm supposed to be a Lab owner. Not!
Go with it and own it!
I don't think your quote was negative at all.QUOTE]
Thanks, Barb.I know quite a few Shelties and their owners and, you are so right. Each has a distinctive personality and although there are things about Spencer that I'd like to change, there are more things about him that make me smile, that I enjoy and love.
Oops, it's a little after 7:00 p.m. and that barking switch is definitely off and he's being Mommy's good little boy.
shelly&sara
Forums Regular
yes they shed but not rerrible like u would think. u will have more hair on the floor drom a black lab then a sheltie or a collie. as long as u brush at least every few days.
as far as them with kids. my shelly is excellent they just wanna play all the time. with my son who is 9 and my daughter is 4 months old and shelly is very protective and very gentle with her. here is a pic u can see what i mean.
click to enlarge
as far as them with kids. my shelly is excellent they just wanna play all the time. with my son who is 9 and my daughter is 4 months old and shelly is very protective and very gentle with her. here is a pic u can see what i mean.
click to enlarge
Not advice, but our experience with a Sheltie and younger kids. We got Tex at 13 weeks. My boys were 4 and 7 at the time. Tex absolutely loves the boys and when we all go out together he will leave me behind to stay up with the boys and wants to be totally involved with what they are doing.
NIPPING:
We made sure that we didn't play any games that would bring out the herding instinct! My youngest had a little bit of a love / hate relationship at first because Tex would get a little mouthy with him at times and he didn't quite know how to correct it. He wanted some time alone essentially and just would child gate off the playroom for instance to separate them. They are the best of buds these days and actually have bonded closer than my other son because the younger one spends more time at home with Tex. Our experience with my kids and their friends coming over and playing with Tex, we haven't really had any issue with nipping. On the other hand with me however every now and then when Tex gets really excited with me he'll go for my tennis shoes (know's those are the shoes I put on when we go outdoors together - smarty pants!
). Go figure 
. Overall we haven't had any issues with nipping with kids. I think that's part tempermant and part training.
The one thing that hasn't been mentioned here that was our biggest issue...
CHEWING!!
We've had to adopt a more aggressive approach to deal with his chewing compared to our other breeds of dogs we've had. Tex actually chewed a chunk out of our dry wall before we knew it! Of course even this is manageable via a variety of means. Tex is 17 months now and not nearly as big of a chewer he was before.
NIPPING:
We made sure that we didn't play any games that would bring out the herding instinct! My youngest had a little bit of a love / hate relationship at first because Tex would get a little mouthy with him at times and he didn't quite know how to correct it. He wanted some time alone essentially and just would child gate off the playroom for instance to separate them. They are the best of buds these days and actually have bonded closer than my other son because the younger one spends more time at home with Tex. Our experience with my kids and their friends coming over and playing with Tex, we haven't really had any issue with nipping. On the other hand with me however every now and then when Tex gets really excited with me he'll go for my tennis shoes (know's those are the shoes I put on when we go outdoors together - smarty pants!
). Go figure . Overall we haven't had any issues with nipping with kids. I think that's part tempermant and part training.The one thing that hasn't been mentioned here that was our biggest issue...
CHEWING!!
We've had to adopt a more aggressive approach to deal with his chewing compared to our other breeds of dogs we've had. Tex actually chewed a chunk out of our dry wall before we knew it! Of course even this is manageable via a variety of means. Tex is 17 months now and not nearly as big of a chewer he was before.