How did you raise your Sheltie in an apartment? Regret starting to sink in.

Gavin didn't go through a rebellious stage, per se.
The not coming when called at the dog park and beach didn't stop until he hit 7-8 so that probably doesn't count.
And he never had a potty training regression.
These guys are such people pleasers, that while they may be a little bratty at times, they are always Shelties!

But Gavin isn't perfect :) I am not allowed to leave the house without bribing him or he barks. Course, now that he is deaf I can sneak out and he doesn't know!
 
angelnov90gmail.com said:
Thank you ladies! I'd set the picture as my profile pic but apparently I can't yet. He is sensitive and he's turning 7 months later this week. I'm not looking forward to the upcoming rebellious stage. Hopefully he starts to relax around age one.
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Just keep on socializing him, it doesn't stop when he's full grown. I've been taking Finnie (he's 1 1/2) to Walmart to do sit stays (and heeling but I need to get him used to the crowds and noise first) and a month ago we had to be a good 10 feet away from the noise. Today we were just off to the side of the sliding doors (right beside them) and he did great...sat for a good 10 minutes with people walking in with carts, little kids and even the cart guy with a load of carts. I was so very proud of him, he's come a long way (and still a way to go) from when even the swoosh of the doors could set him off!
Anything is possible!
 
Piper's mom said:
Just keep on socializing him, it doesn't stop when he's full grown
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So agree :yes:

A Sheltie is always so observant of everything that is not as usual :wink2:

Although Minnie (5y) is so confident with sounds, buses, trucks, and similar
- she does not even look when driving past at high speed,

However, a new branch is located in the neighbor's driveway
- Minnie might stop just to see if it is OK and then we proceed the walk

No, we must not forget that socialization starts
- when we get the puppy home and continue the rest of their lives

Our fur-friends deserve to have a long vel-balanced and safe life :hugs
 
Yes to the socializing.

We take Shelby with us everywhere we can. Local hardware store, Lowe’s, Cabella’s, Tractor Supply, and of course pet stores. We have done this since day #1. And I can’t help but think this is why she really is not afraid of anything and is very confident. We also never coddled her when she was a pup. If she showed any bit of fear at something we didn’t make a big deal out of it and just supported her and encouraged her to get over it.

I don’t know if we did the right thing but it worked.
 
angelnov90gmail.com said:
Thank you ladies! I'd set the picture as my profile pic but apparently I can't yet. He is sensitive and he's turning 7 months later this week. I'm not looking forward to the upcoming rebellious stage. Hopefully he starts to relax around age one.
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Sca never was rebellious except his insistence that the blue chair needed a Sca in it (y). Of course we are talking a dog that would do something bad and tell on himself. Spitfire ummm well he just kind of does whatever he wants and you can pound sand from day one :banghead:. Angus is good and really well mannered. A bit cautious with people at first but otherwise a 10, no rebellion at all. So your guy could be one that never does.
 
Thanks again everyone!

Theon does like Petco so I'll take him there more even if I don't buy anything. I hope he'll become more confident. I'm trying to desensitize him from city noises by sitting near the street early in the morning where there's not many cars driving by, but enough for him to hear at least a few. Didn't know dogs bigger than toy size were allowed in other stores, I'll consider it once he's potty-trained!
 
angelnov90gmail.com said:
Thanks again everyone!

Theon does like Petco so I'll take him there more even if I don't buy anything. I hope he'll become more confident. I'm trying to desensitize him from city noises by sitting near the street early in the morning where there's not many cars driving by, but enough for him to hear at least a few. Didn't know dogs bigger than toy size were allowed in other stores, I'll consider it once he's potty-trained!
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I have a local pet store that is great about you just coming in to socialize your young pup. They don’t care how many times you come in and don’t buy a thing. The distractions are great when trying to train focus. Also, if they were not busy I would ask them to hold Liam’ leash while on a sit stay while I went around the counter so he could not see me. So nice of them.

Good luck.

You might consider starting a new thread as I don’t think regret is an issue for you any longer and Theon is with you to stay! :yes:
 
Hanne said:
7 month and such a cute boy :yes:

Nobody says that you will experience this phase :no:
He probably has plenty to deal with
-with all the new he is experiencing :wink2:

Think you've got this link before but is good to have in mind :yes:
http://sheltieforums.com/threads/are-shelties-for-everyone.22964/
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Hmm I actually did read this but it's good to read it again. I definitely overlooked the noise sensitivity part. People have also said that Sheltie's are adaptable so I hope that's the case with mine. A big reason why I picked him was because he seemed really mellow for his age, the breeder's other 14 dogs were running around barking. Maybe he was a beta in that environment? I hung out with him twice before deciding to take him home. His sister (from the same litter) and his aunt were really hyper.
 
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