Greetings from Texas

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danater

Forums Novice
Hello all,

I was "gifted" today with a stray tri-color sheltie male. He has been fixed and he will be going to the vet tomorrow to make sure everything is in order. But I have to say I had a rather disturbing day and I would like to get some input on what I should be doing with him AFTER the vet visit.

I am not foreign to dogs or quite a few of their behaviors. I grew up with 2 shelties and I have a third that my parents got but I am the only one she will listen to. That being said this stray has me absolutely baffled. He arrived with no name but a face that only a mud brother could love. After 2 solid scrub downs and a shovel out of the bathtub he finally looked like a dog instead of mudzilla. And he has been appropriately named axl as he starting howling to a guns and roses song.

Alright so here is where he gave me a heart attack and killed 3 of my 9 lives.
I took him for a walk, I got a solid collar, and a 6 foot leash. Of which he had 3 foot or so of leeway. Off I take him on this walk, just a simple 10 minute walk to just see what he would do. First 30 seconds, he cowered away from a leaf that was just blowing down the road. Then about 50 feet or so later we needed to cross a quiet neighborhood road. Very little traffic but it just happened to have a couple of cars passing today. The first car he made no reaction, then the second car came by. At which time he does a back step slips that collar and off he runs after this car barking all the way. Which of course that was one heart attack right there. So we get to the street across from the park and there are a couple of houses with dogs in the backyards who bark. Instant bearing of teeth and growling and cowering behind me and we are 20 foot away from the fence easily. So we cross the street and get to the park, its got an area for dogs fenced off. There is no one there THANKFULLY. so I unleash this dog and he just sits there. I had a ball, a frisby and several other toys (tug of war rope, a chew toy). This dog sat there like a frozen statue zero reaction to any toy what so ever. Like he didn't know what they were or anything just looked at me totally blank. I gave him a rawhide chew toy, which he knew exactly what to do with that, hes still working on that one now. So I couldn't take a chance on this dog getting away again, who knows if I could catch him. I had enough leash to make a harness of sorts and I used that to walk him home. Let me make this very clear, I love shelties and I don't give up easily. I have 2 cats that are ex death row simply because of their attitude. one is 7 years old and the other is 5 years old. I am not going to give up on this little dog but I have got to figure out how to fix the issues. I want him to be happy (other than being curled up and asleep on me).

So I am assuming after you have read the story, its a lil long winded. However I need some tips. None of my other shelties had any of these problems and I have no idea how to fix em. I am assuming he needs to have confidence building games and desensitizing solutions. I also have no idea how to train him to leave the cats be, especially since those 2 work in tandem. So suggestions or any advice please let me know. I truly appreciate all the help.
 
Hi Danater and welcome. Do you know how old your new boy is? It is early days yet for you boys but if he's off chasing cars sounds like he is already confident in you.

Couple of quick ideas. First invest in a martingale collar asap. Much less likely to be able to slip out of. Otherwise if you have a harness that would be equally good. A sheltie with a strong herding instinct is next to impossible to cure from car chasing so prevention is the best bet.

Second take some extremely good tasting treats (smelly would be good) and take it very slowly, like you are walking a puppy for the first time. As you walk get him to focus on you (I recommend teaching him the "look at me" command) with treats. When he sees something scary he focuses on you and gets a treat. Keep the leash short so he is walking next to you (for reassurance). When you walk let him sniff a lot so he familiarises himself with your neighbourhood.

You may need to teach him how to play with the ball or Frisbee, it isn't something that comes naturally if he hasn't been taught.

I really recommend enrolling in obedience classes. It's a good way to bond and him to develop confidence.
 
Danater,
Welcome to the boards.

You're doing a good thing in helping this little boy, and it takes a bit of care when you have a stray rescue. You never know what experiences they've had, but he's obviously been through something serious, judging from his reaction to other dogs and cars. You can't expect him to react normally to toys, as some dogs just don't have any experience in playing with humans, as difficult as that might be to imagine. Give him time. He sounds like a boy who needs you and needs some stability and security.

A harness is a very good idea to make sure he isn't a 'flight risk' again. And I hope you have a reliable fence and gate, because Shelties are known to run from new homes. I'd keep him on a leash at all times outdoors until you're sure he's bonded with you, becomes familiar and comfortable with home and yard, and will stay put.

Your vet will be able to help you to understand his early behavior and may be able to judge his temperament through his reactions in the office. You know normal Shelties, and over time, with love and patience, unless he's been horribly abused or has inherent temperament issues, you'll be able to judge his improving behavior and recovery.

There are many experienced Sheltie guardians on the boards, here, and we're here to support you.
 
welcome:smile2:
we love pix:yes:

my first sheltie was a 5 yr old female from sheltie rescue. she never played with a toy. she did love her treats though. She came with a harness and I already had one that I had planned to use with her. I've seen too many dogs slip the collar to ever walk a dog in public on just a regular collar.
I second obedience classes.
Callie's first class, she pretty much laid under the chair, by the third or fourth class, she was getting close to the instructor and begging for the treats. She went on to get a Rally Novice title but she was always a little insecure when we first got to new places.
time and patience........................
 
There is a harness called a Ruffwear (brand) Webmaster. It has TWO belly straps and is the ONLY harness on the planet that is unslippable. The hound people use it and so do I with my fearful shepherd. I just got one for my puppy after he slipped a normal harness and scared my mom out of 8 of her 9 lives.

DO NOT walk that dog again until you have a harness. You can use a martingale, but in absolute fear or agression with backing or bolting you will break their neck. I would and do use one on my mellow sheltie but not on my fearful shepherd, for example. I would have picked that dog up and carried him home after the first slip but it was ingenious of you to use the leash to make a loop harness.

Some dogs do not play. My rescue Melli does not at all. A rescued Aussie of mine was the same. Goes with some upbringing, I think.

Then, give the dog some time to adjust to your house. Too much to quick to begin with. A week or two of routine and making friends and bonding would be good before venturing out. The dog, I am sure is very confused right now. Do not trust off leash in any way unless you have solid unscalable fencing. After adjustment, you can start working on walking in a safe quiet area and expanding outwards to more and more distractions as the dog gets used to you and to things.

Oh -- bully sticks are better than rawhide because they are better digested. Make sure the vet checks his teeth before too much hard work on them.

As to the cats -- lots of No and leave it, physical separation, crating while gone, and time.

Remember, this dog is shell shocked. His world, however it was, was destroyed. He will need time, patience, and slow exposure. I am willing to bet this dog lived in a house/backyard and was left in the yard all day to do nothing but run fences with cars, dogs, people, and cats so he is reactive and fearful of the world. No or little exposure to the world. You will have to treat him like a puppy seeing for the first time and needing non-scary things.

You will need the help of a good trainer with maybe private sessions and then group sessions after some work to get past reacting to other dogs.

Time and patience and slow.
 
Rescueing a dog is a great thing, and shows you have a great heart...:hugs

Both of you are in a new situation....sometimes stress at the beginnig is normal....I think the only thing you need is patience and lots of treats, and thones of love!

Good luck.
 
The vet thinks he is between 1 and 18 months old.
The harness is on order, ruffwear webmaster from amazon.
I have a side patio that I have made into a kennel, 20 foot by 5 foot by 9 foot roof that is connected to the house on top of a slab of concrete. There is some grass at the end in a box ontop of the slab for bathroom purposes. and a nice igloo house for em. I suspect he'll be fine at night in there. I know its still a gilded cage for better words.

I whipped up a small program last night that has crashes and bangs and all types of noise clips from the big city, even got a couple of kids to call him on a voice recorder at several intensities, but those won't be added till way later. (I'm a CS major in college atm and I work full time as a nerd in the it department) Anyway I have speakers setup in the middle of the back yard and I walk axel around the perimeter every hour or so that I am home 4 times with this program running. it randomly selects noises and plays them. I get a good feel of how he reacts and he gets a good dose of walking by my side, treats and noise desensitization.

I am guessing I would call that intense rehab but its already working. His personality is already starting to come out. 3 dogs came by this morning and he just looked in their direction (no growl or anything). He's starting to be more "bouncy" and energetic.
 
Hello!
I would recommand a goodie-dummy (a bag filled with goodies). So you can first feed him right out of it, to make it prescious to him. Than handle it near te boddom like a mouse and when he touches it -reward him. Than make it more and more till he carry it towards you maybe first only some inches.
Second is lay down on floor and invite him to you - get in touch with him just to get a better bounding.
Visit a Dogs Club or make yourself something like a easy parcours with a tunnel, plastic bags, tires, ... Every obstacle he passes will improve his self confidence. He learns when you lead him into that Situation it becomes a sucess.

Best regards!

Margit
 
Did you have him checked for a chip yet? He might have a family out there searching for him. As much as you obviously like him already it would be best to check as there could be a family out there searching for him after he escaped from them.

Good luck on the rest though, and I am sure he will settle in.
 
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