Can shelties be happy in a busy/noisy home

I'm in the UK and currently with my 2nd Sheltie. My first Sheltie Harley was older by the time kids came along but he was amazing with them.
Once I lost Harley along came Monty and I have to admit he has loved being in a busy home. He loves to join in all the games the kids are playing, the more noise the better haha (currently one is 5, the other 9). As with Harley Monty is so gentle with them but you just have to be careful the play doesn't get too rough where they can get accidently hurt. The important thing is to make sure all the initial contacts with the family are super positive until they build the level of trust and bond with the children. After that I'm sure your little Sheltie will be happy to join in all the fun.
I have to had to leave Monty and Harley alone while doing some school runs or shopping and both were perfectly ok with it. If I'm away more than a couple hours max I get a dog sitter (usually my mom). Harley used to just sleep while I was out, Monty.....well Monty needs to be put in a safe spot when I'm out as he gets up to everything (stealing, chewing, climbing, barking).

It looks like you are doing your research and not rushing in so I'm sure you'll be fine.
 
Sharon7 said:
One thought - the UK Shelties seem much lighter boned than ours over here. They really need a gentle hand anyway because they are all so sensitive, but they are not a breed for anyone, or any kid, who wants a rough and tumble, wrestling kind of dog. They are tough little dogs in other ways, but not with physical roughness.
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I will give Sharon quite right.

Personally i would probably wait a bit,
3 kids aged 4,6 and 12(eldest has adhd)
i will be afraid it will end up with a lot of barking.

Hope Trini will chime in
 
You will have barking. I have three kids and brought home a puppy when the youngest was 3 and oldest 9. 3 year old was tougher supervision and stimulation wise but we did it. Now we have a 9 month old puppy and kids are 9-13 yrs. They (dogs) greatly benefitted from being crate trained and having some safe, extended nap time in them especially while young (dogs until age 2ish) or the house boisterous. I appreciated the break in supervision too.

I find the teen puppy months the hardest, there are fear/ regression and hyper stimulation stages. That happens in all dogs but higher strung, more active ones more than others. Mostly it is a joy but we are in a goofy more hyper aroused stage right now.

As for being left alone, i have always worked full time. They adjust to my schedule and create a routine around it. I make sure they have play time before work and lots after. They sleep most of they day and adjust to activity periods around that. Between our schedules they can be alone up to 8 hours five days a week (but usually only 3 or 4 days for 7 and Inam home on school vacations).
I pen younger dogs when I go work so they aren’t crated all day. Xpens or baby gates are your friend with baby/ young dogs.
Personally, I was raised with shelties in a large family.
 
Barking is something I'm already anticipating and I'm OK with that
But I do have 1 questions do 5hey bark much for no reason?
Other than things like doorbell, postman, cars going past, while playing, hover list is endless lol
But do they just bark for nothing or just continually bark for hrs without a reason
 
Sheltie 2021 said:
Barking is something I'm already anticipating and I'm OK with that
But I do have 1 questions do 5hey bark much for no reason?
Other than things like doorbell, postman, cars going past, while playing, hover list is endless lol
But do they just bark for nothing or just continually bark for hrs without a reason
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so I have 4 shelties- Dixie has taught the younger boys to bark, especially during perimeter patrol. They bark at each other many times when they first go out. they bark if they can see the neighbors doing/moving/making noise- and that is the longest that they'll bark- as long as the neighbors are moving/making noise, they'll bark. if the neighbors aren't outside, then they'll chill out. they can lay outside for quite some time without barking. in the house, mine don't bark at the phone, dishwasher, sneezes or many of the other things that seem to set off other shelties. some noises, knocking on the door, will trigger barking but all in all, I don't think my shelties are bigger barkers than other breeds that I know.....
 
Although Kip barks a lot, he is mostly quiet and calm in the house.

My first Sheltie, Noel, I got her when I was a teenager and I had a younger sibling (Both Noel and younger sibling were 7 years old). Noel and my younger sibling were not a good match. Lots of barking. She got along great with all the teenagers in the family. Noel wasn’t raised around kids unfortunately.

Kip has been socialized around children a lot and loves them, although there are none in the family. However I would never let him play unsupervised with a child of any age. I don’t want Kip to get hurt by rough play, and I don’t want him to get carried away and play too rough either.

I’ll add, although it’s probably obvious, Shelties can be very sensitive and should not be allowed to be teased by children.
 
Elei said:
....

I’ll add, although it’s probably obvious, Shelties can be very sensitive and should not be allowed to be teased by children.
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No dog should. Me and a dog we had when I was little would torment each other. I would poke him in the leg if he was sleeping and he would purposefully lay in front of me if I was watching TV. But teasing or taunting no way. He was an awesome dog and went to bike races etc. with us.

People that taunt a dog are just mean.
 
Daisy1015 said:
You will have barking. I have three kids and brought home a puppy when the youngest was 3 and oldest 9. 3 year old was tougher supervision and stimulation wise but we did it. Now we have a 9 month old puppy and kids are 9-13 yrs. They (dogs) greatly benefitted from being crate trained and having some safe, extended nap time in them especially while young (dogs until age 2ish) or the house boisterous. I appreciated the break in supervision too.

I find the teen puppy months the hardest, there are fear/ regression and hyper stimulation stages. That happens in all dogs but higher strung, more active ones more than others. Mostly it is a joy but we are in a goofy more hyper aroused stage right now.

As for being left alone, i have always worked full time. They adjust to my schedule and create a routine around it. I make sure they have play time before work and lots after. They sleep most of they day and adjust to activity periods around that. Between our schedules they can be alone up to 8 hours five days a week (but usually only 3 or 4 days for 7 and Inam home on school vacations).
I pen younger dogs when I go work so they aren’t crated all day. Xpens or baby gates are your friend with baby/ young dogs.
Personally, I was raised with shelties in a large family.
Click to expand...


Wow I didn't sound as positive as I expected! I guess typing too fast with a migraine. All breeds have their pros and cons. SOme shelties will bark at "everything" but shouldn't be for hours on end and you should be able to improve it. Some things may require gradual desenitization, some things are par for the course. My shelties have been barkers or verbal. I have one who is noise reactive but we reduced how many things he reacts to tremendously. I still got a second. :) the barking factor was my only fear! She is not noise reactive- but she barks at him and vacuums (we are working on desensitizing this). All our dogs growing up were noise barkers at somethings, but it shouldn't be all things.

One thing I can say for shelties that they have over most small breeds, they are very solid at potty training and many quicker than the average. They bond very deeply with their owners, like spiritual level bonds. They can bond to a whole family and have unique relationships with each. All teen dogs are going to have difficult phases adn hyperactive/hyperaroused phases that you have to monitor more, separate more, and train through more than your dog's normal pattern but phases typically last weeks and they go in and out of them and they OUTGROW them! It also true of all dog breeds.

I have shelties because I was raised with them (9 kids and fosters) and I had a whole childhood of bonds to shelties. I trusted them with kids (like others say, the right kids who are also sensitive and gentle spirits themselves who are trainable- I am sure yours fit that bill if they take after you!). You do need to be prepared for energy- but isn't that true of many breeds and all puppies? And training for the typical mouthing, jumping, etc How much so really varies by dog and again this is true of most breeds. My mom has a knack for picking calmer ones, I pick very twinkly and subsequently more active ones with big personalities. A reliable breeder would be very interested in helping you find the right temperament for your home. Some dogs go oversize and that may be a good fit for your family right now.
 
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