Hi from Argyle, TX - My aggressive Lucy

[trini]

Hi, I am new to the group too. I am going to put the info in incomplete sentences or I will go on forever. Have rescued 9 dogs - mostly shepherds. Retired - still have 1 12 yr. old female GSD - very gentle - now deaf. Rescued Sheltie (with papers) from owner who said he could not get along with her other animals. Leo is 6 years old. >>>>enjoy our fenced yard (we have had him 4 months). He does not - either stays by me or runs to our Camellias and eats the blossoms. Kaya has tried to play with him (play bow, little jump) and Leo walks away. Does not seem to know how to play. I do groom him & brush his teeth, >>>> My rule on beds was only when they are asked but my heart felt sorry for Leo - the no play dog. He has been great learning sit, stay, down, no, and hand signal for OK. Good with all hand signals really. Quick learner. But now we are noticing that when he is on our laps and Kaya comes around, he growls at her. She ignores him - we put him off our laps with a firm no. He still will occasionally does this even with the firm no. I try to play fetch with him - this dog does not play.
1- Do I forbid bed privileges?
2- Is there a way to teach Leo to play? Are there some Shelties that just will not play?

Welcome to SN.

To answer your first question...yes...no bed privileges for a dog who shows any sign of aggression or "take-over" tendencies. The mere fact of elevating Leo's physical position to be higher than your other dog gives him the message he is "king of the mountain" and can rule. Also the bed is the place the pack leader (you) sleeps...so again letting him join you on the bed gives him higher ranking in the pack...he is "moving up the ladder". Until/unless he can be in your lap or on your bed and show zero negative behavior to Kala he shouldn't have any of those privileges. Kala is obviously a very sweet soul not to be replying in kind to her new "sibling". But she deserves your support in making sure she isn't on the receiving end of Leo's bad behavior.

Secondly, yes, there are some shelties who don't play...usually they are the ones who come from a home where no play with humans was ever done. Some will learn to play in time, some never do actually play.

Trini

 

[Caro]

You will probably need to teach him fetch - most dogs don't come knowing how to do it, they need to watch another dog doing it or be taught.

What sort of play do you want him to do? Play with your other dog, play with you? My dogs hardly play with each other, and rarely with other dogs. They are happy to 'hang' with their doggy friends but don't really wrestle or chase them. My male isn't interested in being outside if I'm not there, he just follows me everywhere around the house - my "Shepherd's" dog I call him. Tully will sit outside on her own, but really, what else is there to do in the yard?

Does he play with toys? That may be the first step in teaching him to play fetch. There is a method for this - it teaches the dog value in toys. Get a toy that the dog that has not been used before so doesn't have anyone else's scent. Several times a day give the dog the toy for a couple of mins at first then take the toy and put away. To start with you should play with the dog and it's toy to get it interested - try a squeaky toy for fun or a toy with a ball if you want to teach fetch later. After a few days build it up to 5 minutes, then keep building the time up every few days until by the end of a fortnight you're leaving the toy with the dog for 20mins. You should also play with other toys while you are doing this.

 

[tesslynn]

playing

It is interaction so if no interaction was ever done, it must be taught because the opportunity to learn to play wasn't present. I have always used puppets, because it is easy to get their attention and control the interaction and make it fun, and of course voices come out and that is fun too. I have a sheltie puppet that each of my girls have enjoyed. It is ancient but effective-it was a gift for my 1st sheltie. And the puppet can pick up balls and toys and that gets the tails wagging and the puppy noises going and it is great fun because now it is a choice whether to go after the toy or the puppet or both. Another easy way to have a pair of goofy slippers-the animal head type ones work well, those have always been a hit, and you control the interaction. I think play is SO important for pets, and for humans, our world needs to "lighten" up and blow off steam in healthy ways. My girls play tug of war with their string rope toys, and bumper cars trying to get the ball away from each other, and then who can out zoomie the other, and I egg them on, because you can see it makes them happy to be goofy. Take time and make it an event.