Behavior concerning herding

T

tribefan064

Forums Novice
I recently purchased a 4 yr. old female Sheltie. I also have a 8 yr. old Lab, and a 4 yr. old German Shepard. Recently I have noticed that when I say "Do you want to go outside?" (all 3 dogs know what this means), my Sheltie (Sassy) will charge at my Lab nipping at her hind legs and literally herds the other 2 dogs outside. Alot of times (I guess if she doesn't have to go potty), she makes sure they are both outside and turns around and comes in. Not sure what to do about this behavior. Also something she has done since we got her (was told she was abused by the original owners, and kept chained outside) is she will spin around in circles and bark anytime anyone leaves the house. I would really appreciate if anyone can please tell me what to do about this weird behavior as I am new to having this type of breed. Thanks!!! Lori
 
Spinning and barking - typical Sheltie behaviour. Herding the others outside - typical Sheltie behaviour. They are a herding dog and love to herd just about anything.
 
A yes, the sheltie spin. It's just something they do. You should see the spinning, foot stamping barking performance my male does when anyone leaves - even the tradesmen! They get a bit frustrated one of the flock is leaving. Mine also spin when they are happy, excited, or just to be silly.

If you want to stop her doing it when you leave I suggest distracting her as you go out the door - give the dogs a kong, hide food or just throw a handful of small treats or kibble inside as you leave. I have never found a way to stop it, just to limit it to more appropriate times.

The nipping is also instinctive. Shelties with a strong herding instinct can be very mouthy and will often nip when they excited. There are a couple of things you can do. You can redirect her mouth on to a toy or stick so she learns when she feels like nipping to put something else in her mouth - this approach works really well with my male. The other thing to try is give her a job when she goes outside. Maybe leave a toy outside and tell her to get it, or teach her to pick something up or do a drop ina certain spot - anything that will keep her focussed on another activity at the time she is most excited - which is when she is going outside.
 
lets concentrate on the behavior you want to see. What you want your dog to do when people are leaving the house? Are you ok with her spinning and barking? If you like her to lets say lay down on the mat, train for it. It is simple, not easy... do not let your dog rehearse what you do not want to see and ask for incompatible behavior/ which of course you have to train outside of the problem time happening/
now as people mentioned it is instinct behavior so often it is easier to manage- i.e. put her on leash with you when people come/go...
 
I have one spin barker when I leave, and the other one herds the cat and our little maltese cross without nipping!
 
Barkley is a twirler (always in the same direction!) when someone leaves or it's feeding time. All three of ours herd...it's in their genes and I once had a trainer tell me you can't train that out of dogs that are bred to do it. I don't know if that's true but I haven't been able to untrain herding.

When we had horses, they herded them. Now they herd crows and squirrels, us and occasionally each other.
 
I think sheltieche has the right idea. These are habits/instincts that many shelties have. It might be difficult to teach them not to do it, so a better option is to teach them an alternative behavior.

My two spin and bark when I get their Kongs for snack in the morning when I leave. I found it very irritating and no amount of correcting, stopping and waiting seemed to work. So I just asked for a down stay the entire time. Now it's no problem because I always ask for a down stay.

You might try something similar. Ask for a sit stay as you let the other dogs outside, then release her to go out after them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top